“Our Children Are Just Canaries in The Coalmine”: Lived Experiences of Neurodivergent Children’s School Anxiety Within the UK’s Systemic Crisis

AbstractThe UK education system is in crisis, manifesting in increasing anxiety and non-attendance forNeurodivergent children. Existing research has identified school-based factors but has neglectedsystemic mechanisms. Our multi-perspective qualitative study explored school anxiety through thelens of neuro-normative epistemic injustice - knowledge positioning Neurotypicality as superior anddefault.We conducted focus groups incorporating innovative creative methods with 31 individuals withexperience of school anxiety, including Neurodivergent children (n=8, aged 10-16) and adults (n=5),parents (n=8), and teachers (n=10). We utilised participatory research methods, incorporatingNeurodivergent input throughout.Using reflexive thematic analysis, we found neuro-normativity central to an inaccessible, anxiety-evoking system. Inflexible structures and under-resourcing gatekeep support until crisis or diagnosis,constraining parents and educators and fostering mutual blame. This system legitimises rejection bypeers and teachers, compounding distress. Navigating such harm results in illness, trauma, and non-attendance. Meltdowns and shutdowns emerge but are often penalised. Where authenticity is unsafe,camouflaging has catastrophic mental health consequences. Withdrawal, therefore, becomes an act ofself-perseveration.Our findings highlight the urgency of re-conceptualising school anxiety and non-attendance asrational responses to systemic harm. Meaningful change requires systemic transformation - involvingpolicy and pedagogy - grounded in the epistemic inclusion of Neurodivergent individuals.