Encompassing a range of disorders, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning difficulties, neurodiversity is the natural variation in how brains function and process information. If there is far greater recognition and acceptance today of these differences, getting proper support in mainstream education remains a challenge. The Bulletin talks to families in Belgium who share their experiences, including schooling and the lack of employment opportunities. In the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, almost 30,000 students integrated into mainstream education need additional assistance. The Flemish Region has a higher
percentage of pupils in special needs education, which is why it has launched a three-phase project to offer supplementary specialised education in mainstream schools. While both regions aim for more inclusive school campuses, financial constraints clearly hamper their advancement. Meanwhile, the diagnosis of all neurodiverse conditions continues to rise. Mental health advocate Rozina Spinnoy is mother to three sons including Harris, 20 (pictured), who is autistic. The family lives in Brussels, with the boys attending Flemish community schools. “While services do exist for autism, the
system often feels fragmented and difficult to navigate,” she says. “Families are frequently left to connect the dots themselves, moving between organisations with limited coordination, which can be exhausting.” One key hurdle is getting an expert diagnosis to access help, she said. This involves “a clinical, multidisciplinary assessment rather than a single fixed scale,” involving teams of child psychiatrists, psychologists and neurologists, carrying out evaluations looking at communication, behaviour and developmental history. Harris was assessed at UZ (Universitair Ziekenhuis) Brussels’ child psychiatry unit and the
UPC KU (Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum Katholieke Universiteit) Leuven Campus Kortenberg. “Waiting times and lack of continuity make it difficult to access consistent, long-term support,” highlights Spinnoy. Neurodiversity must be seen as part of a bigger picture, she adds: “In our experience a multidisciplinary approach was essential to fully understand the complexity of our son’s situation.” She also calls for better coordination between services; earlier intervention and support, without needing a crisis to trigger action, and for greater continuity of care, allowing children and families to
work with the same professional over time. In addition, more consistent support in mainstream schools including trained staff and practical adjustments that allow a person with special educational needs to participate in class, and stronger post-education support is essential, she says. For Harris, the challenge was also in changing schools. “Every time I had to start again – a new place, new teachers, new people. Also I had to try to make friends all over again. That was really stressful and sometimes overwhelming. Even in
schools that were meant to be inclusive, I didn’t always feel included. Sometimes I felt I didn’t fully fit in or wasn’t understood, especially by certain teachers.” He also struggled outside of school. “It can be difficult in social or work situations when things aren’t clear or when people expect you to just ‘know’ how to act. Overall, the hardest part has been constantly adapting while just wanting to feel understood and accepted.” Smaller classes and work experience were beneficial, though, says Harris: “In my
final two years of school, I worked every Tuesday at a second-hand sports shop and I really enjoyed that. It gave me confidence and helped me learn in a more practical way.” Looking ahead, he would appreciate “more opportunities for apprenticeships and paid work experience,” as many roles are unpaid. Harris has also found it difficult to find a job connected to his interests, like sports or football: “I would like support from a specialist career coach, rather than lots of different meetings that don’t
lead anywhere.” Brussels-based film director Anny Tubbs made the short documentary Ma Place dans Ce Monde after one of her children’s neurodiverse classmates committed suicide the day before a mock school exam in 2023. The film highlights the additional pressures experienced by learners with special needs, giving some 25 children a chance to say how neurodiversity affects them. She emphasises that while inclusive principles are accepted in theory, they are difficult to implement in practice: “Inclusion requirements are often added as a layer over a
system built around selection and performance.” In addition, Tubbs, whose children attended the Lycée Français, argues that while access to support in school has improved significantly, this is often impossible without a medical diagnosis, and she echoes Spinnoy’s experience in pointing out that this often takes time. Meanwhile, children in psychological distress – which many ADHD and dyslexic children are – rarely express it directly so parents can miss the signs, she notes: “This is an enormous burden for everyone involved and can cause serious
damage to a child’s self-esteem.” Tubbs insists inclusion should not just mean neurodiverse children being kept in the same class as other learners: “Teacher training, not just one-off awareness sessions – could be transformational if it covers how to design tasks that include everyone, how to observe what a child is actually doing and how to work effectively with available support staff.” Moreover, each child’s voice must be central: “We need to create conditions where they feel safe enough to be heard. This is not
a luxury… it’s a precondition for any support to actually work.” Thirdly there must be a shift in how success is defined at school: “A child’s wellbeing and the quality of their relationships are more important indicators of future success than academic results. “Until we genuinely reflect that, we will keep losing the trust and powerful insights of children who learn differently and fail to properly address avoidable suffering that often carries into adulthood.” Tubbs’ film illustrates how being neurodiverse should not be seen as
a disadvantage for the class. As its participants say: “Being neurodiverse does not stop you from being intelligent.” Lucile Arnaud works as a speech and language therapist in private practice and in a territorial support service for children with special needs at Ixelles’ French-speaking secondary Athénée Charles Janssens. She says the biggest challenge for primary and secondary school teachers is coping with the wide variety of student profiles in their classes. Noting the increase of children exhibiting behavioural difficulties and/or language delays, she agrees neurodiversity
training in early intervention for these pupils from their earliest years should be an integral part of teachers’ roles, “especially as the path is not always clear or accessible for parents, with often a two-year wait for an assessment for suspected autism.” Arnaud draws on her personal as well as professional experience. Her second child Max, 18 (pictured), has Rubinstein-Tabi syndrome, which is associated with mild intellectual disability. It is accompanied by some ADHD symptoms and the rarity of his genetic condition means that he
has received support from neurodiversity structures. While Arnaud does not want to see “ghettos” of neurodiverse children, she says “inclusion at any price” is not the answer. Instead the existing system should be rethought, with for example less emphasis on exam results. “Specific adjustments, for example allowing dyslexic children to use audio transcription for written instructions, articles or books and dyscalculic pupils to use calculators, should be put in place as far as possible,” she says. “The principle is that what is good for a
dyslexic or dyspraxic child cannot harm others,” with ‘universal’ adjustments such as timers and well-spaced text implemented from the start: “Indeed, quite the contrary… clear instructions, flexible timing and differentiated exercises will not leave behind those who struggle, while continuing to challenge those who need more stimulation.” Like Spinnoy, Arnaud says neurodiversity support cannot stop at the school gates, and that a system of integration should be established straight after diagnosis. All actors around the neurodivergent child should work together, before, during and after school
years, instead of “in their corner” in silos. The context at home should also be taken into account. Max is now doing well and training to be a waiter at Etablissement Sainte-Bernadette, an inclusive professional school in Auderghem, she says proudly, emphasising the benefit from opportunities for work and placements along with study. Her son also enjoyed extra-curricular sports activities with groups of disabled/non-disabled children like climbing. However, Max’s care varied: “His first school [maternelle] failed to see he had broken his arm, not once
but twice,” she said. A second one with smaller classes offering more personal attention was more effective, before he eventually moved to ‘Type 1’ Brussels schools (for children with a mild intellectual disability). But now things have improved, she says. “Teachers thought neurodiversity was not their problem. Now they feel increasingly involved and engaged, but there are still challenges when it comes to teacher training.” Support and activities for neurodiversity ADHD – ASC – Dyslexia Family Resources Belgium Neurodiversity Belgium. Multidisciplinary network providing support to
English-speaking families ADHD HUB As part of University Hospitals Brussels, the Queen Fabiola Children’s University Hospital (HUDERF) provides services for children and adolescents UZ Brussels: Centre of Expertise for Adults with a Developmental Disability (EVO) Multidisciplinary team at the University Hospital Brussels Community Help Service (CHS) Brussels mental health centre for adults, children, adolescents and families with a multidisciplinary and multilingual team. Plus a 24/7 telephone hotline for support and advice in English: 02.648.40.14 Dyslexie.be Information & support (Fr & NL) Apeda Belgian association for
people with learning difficulties (Fr) Itinéraire AMO Free and confidential aid for young people and their families in Saint-Gilles HandiFoot – RRC Boitsfort Handifoot club for players with physical or mental deficiencies ATYPIA Inclusion project for people with atypical or neurodivergent conditions La Septantieme Scout group open to children with a handicap in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre For more information on addiction treatment and mental health services in Belgium: Mental health care in Belgium: National survey plus where to get help and support | The Bulletin Photos: (main
image) ©Adobe stock; Harris; Ma Place dans Ce Monde poster; Still Ma Place dans Ce Monde; Max; courtesy Itinéraire AMO The production of this feature was supported by a grant from the Local Innovative Media In Europe Network (LIMENet), co-funded by the European Union.
Belgium, neurodiversity, autism, ADHD, dyslexia, mainstream education, diagnosis, support services, inclusive schools, teacher training, Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Flemish Region