SCHOOLS TRAUMA REPORT 2025 The hidden crisis facing neurodivergent children in Australian schools
Prepared by ADHD Mums | Jane McFadden
This report brings together dozens of direct testimonies from Australian parents raising neurodivergent children who are being excluded, punished, or traumatised within the current education system. These stories are raw, confronting, and painfully consistent. They reflect a systemic failure of inclusion and a pattern of harm that is neither acknowledged in policy nor reflected in current data collection.
This is not a fringe issue. This is a national crisis. And it is being silenced every day under the guise of ‘behaviour,’ ‘fit,’ and ‘funding limitations.’
✨ THEME 1: SYSTEMIC FAILURES
- Informal exclusions are rampant and untracked
‘My son was sent home daily for weeks. There’s no record of it, just ‘parent pickup’ after a phone call.’ – Submission 2
‘We were told, ‘We’re not the right fit.’ That was their way of excluding him without suspension.’ – Submission 49
Schools are bypassing formal exclusion procedures and using soft exits, early pickups, and emotional pressure to remove students without accountability. These children become statistically invisible.
- Masking is mistaken for coping
‘She’s praised for being such a great student. Then she comes home and says she wants to die.’ – Submission 69
‘He’s in burnout. But because he doesn’t explode in class, they think he’s fine.’ – Submission 48
The system rewards quiet compliance and punishes visible struggle. Children who internalise are left unsupported, often until their mental health collapses.
- Behaviour plans are used in place of adjustments
‘They refused to fund support but gave us a behaviour plan that punished his sensory responses.’ – Submission 70
‘He was given detention for meltdowns. 16 detentions in two weeks.’ – Submission 25
Instead of providing accommodations, schools often create rigid behaviour management plans that escalate distress and reinforce blame.
- Diagnosis does not equal support
‘We finally got a diagnosis. Nothing changed. They said, ‘We don’t see that here.’’ – Submission 27
‘Our DIP funding was cancelled because we filed a complaint.’ – Submission 48
Families report that formal diagnoses are often dismissed, undermined, or even used against them in punitive ways. There is no guaranteed pathway from diagnosis to real-world support.
- Educators lack training — and accountability
‘Some teachers want to learn. But the old-school ones don’t, and no one makes them.’ – Submission 68
‘I’ve been told I should parent better. That he just needs to try harder.’ – Submission 26
There is no mandatory neuro-affirming or trauma-informed training across most jurisdictions. Families bear the burden of educating staff, while facing blame and judgment.
THEME 2: FAMILY IMPACT
- Mental health breakdowns
‘She self-harms now. She used to be bubbly and happy. That was before Prep.’ – Submission 51
‘My 5-year-old was expelled. He said he wanted to die.’ – Submission 70
- Financial stress
‘We can’t afford private therapists. I can’t work. I’m always waiting for the next school call.’ – Submission 70
- Parent burnout and fear
‘I cry most days. I want to homeschool but I’m also neurodivergent and can’t cope.’ – Submission 69
‘We’re walking on eggshells all the time.’ – Submission 26
Families are collapsing under the emotional and financial strain of trying to keep their kids safe in a system that punishes disability.
⚠️ OUR DEMANDS
- National data collection on school refusal, soft exits, and informal exclusions
- If it’s not counted, it doesn’t get fixed. Mandate tracking of all early pickups, ‘parent-requested’ withdrawals, and informal arrangements.
- Mandatory neuro-affirming and trauma-informed training
- All educators should be trained in autism, ADHD, PDA, sensory processing, and trauma impacts. This is not a ‘nice to have.’ It’s basic safety.
- Funding tied to function, not just diagnosis
- Recognise that masking, burnout, and complex profiles still require support even when a child appears ‘high functioning.’
- Oversight of behaviour plans and exclusion practices
- Require external review for any student removed more than twice in a term, or subject to repeated disciplinary action for disability-related behaviours.
- Whole-school accountability
- Individual good teachers are not enough. We need system-level reform, with leadership held to account for hostile or exclusionary school cultures.
Jane’s Note:
This is not about complicated individual adjustments for each child. It’s about human rights, dignity, and access to education. Neurodivergent children are not broken. They are breaking in systems that refuse to accommodate difference.
Schools must become places of genuine belonging and safety. Until then, we will keep telling these stories, over and over, until someone listens.
Contact: Jane McFadden
ADHD Mums
