What Impact does School-related Stress have on Neurodiverse Students?

Stress can affect us all. This Stress Awareness Week, it’s essential to highlight the unique challenges that neurodiverse students – particularly those with ADHD and autism – face. For these students, school-related stress can intensify sensory experiences, make focus more challenging and disrupt the routines that provide stability – all of which are vital for success and comfort at school.

Here, Becky Ward, Education Specialist at Tutor Doctor, discusses recognising signs of stress, how they appear and their long-term effects. She also covers how parents and schools can collaborate to create supportive environments for neurodiverse students to thrive.

Firstly, I believe it’s important to establish that everyone’s experiences and challenges are different. This guide speaks to what students may experience. There is no typical neurodiverse challenge, experience or need – it is a broad spectrum. Equally important to understand is the term ‘neurodivergent students’ includes more than just those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).

What challenges do neurodiverse students ‘typically’ face?

Neurodiverse students are more prone to feeling school-related stress, which can impact their wellbeing and academic performance. Key challenges include:

Recognising and managing stress – students struggle to recognise stress as it builds, often only seeking help once it has escalated. Without timely intervention, this can lead to students becoming overwhelmed and unable to cope with the level of stress they are experiencing.

Executive functioning support – prioritising tasks and time management can be daunting without extra guidance. Unlike their peers, neurodiverse students often need additional support in identifying and implementing these skills to manage demands at school.

Adapting to change – students with autism in particular may face challenges with flexible thinking, making it difficult for them to adapt when stress arises or when there are changes in their routine. This can lead to a heightened sense of being ‘stuck’, where they may struggle to relax or find comfort if things feel out of control.

Expressing needs and self-advocacy – another challenge for many neurodiverse students is self-advocacy. Expressing their needs or seeking the support they require can be intimidating or confusing, particularly in a school setting where they may feel different from their peers. This can result in unaddressed needs that exacerbate their stress and impact their overall school experience.

How does stress manifest in students with ADHD and autism?

Understanding what stress looks like for students with ADHD and autism is crucial to providing effective support. Again, everyone’s experiences vary, but students with ADHD and autism tend to deal with stress differently.

Students with ADHD often respond to stress with increased impulsivity and difficulty in emotional regulation, making self-control challenging. Stress can also heighten restlessness and hyperactivity, impacting their focus and sense of calm. Additionally, ADHD students may experience task avoidance and disorganisation, as stress hinders their ability to start or complete tasks, creating a cycle of escalating stress and forgetfulness.

For autistic students, stress often intensifies sensory sensitivities, leading to sensory overload from sights, sounds, or other stimuli, which can result in withdrawal, particularly in social situations. To maintain predictability, these students may cling more rigidly to routines, which helps them feel in control but can make adapting to change difficult. Task avoidance is also common, as they may steer clear of tasks, people, or situations that elevate their stress levels.

If left unaddressed, these stress signs can have damaging long-term effects. Chronic stress impairs skills like organisation and planning, making it harder to focus and retain information over time. Additionally, it increases mental health risks, including anxiety and depression, which may lead to disengagement from school.

Five signs of stress for parents to look out for:

1. Escapism and avoidance – students will often try to escape or avoid the thing that is causing them stress. They may claim to feel ill, withdraw, ignore, act out in an attempt to escape the situation, classroom or task. They may procrastinate more than is typical for them or may isolate themselves from their peers or refuse to engage in activities that normally interest them.

2. Emotional dysregulation – increased challenge regulating their emotions can lead to more frequent and intense reactions to challenges, especially anger, frustration or crying. The emotional reaction may seem unreasonable given the level of challenge they may face.

3. Sensory overload (especially for children with ASD) – stress can heighten sensory sensitivities, resulting in sensory overloads, causing them to feel overwhelmed. This can often manifest as meltdowns, shutting down or avoidant behaviours.

4. Increased repetitive or self-soothing behaviour (especially for children with ASD) – higher levels of stress can lead to an increase in behaviours that your child finds soothing like rocking, hand-flapping or repeating certain phrases, as these are often coping mechanisms that reduce feelings of stress.

5. Increased impulsivity and/or hyperactivity (especially for children with ADHD) – stress can exacerbate impulsive behaviours and/or hyperactivity, making them feel more restless, unsettled, inattentive and prone to making quicker decisions or acting seemingly without thinking.

What strategies can parents use to manage their child’s stress levels at home or at school?

Supporting students through stressful situations requires practical strategies both at home and in collaboration with the schools they attend. Here are some to help students build their resilience and manage stress:

Grounding techniques – a great technique to use is the ‘5-4-3-2-1’ method, which helps children focus on their surroundings by identifying sensory elements (five things they can see, four they can touch, three they can hear, two they can smell and one they can taste). This helps redirect attention from stress.

Deep breathing and relaxation – teach breathing exercises like ‘box breathing’ (inhale, hold, exhale for four seconds each) and progressive muscle relaxation to activate calming responses, reducing tension.

Predictable routines – establish structured daily routines for tasks like getting ready for school or doing their homework. Create calming routines for overwhelming moments, using visual schedules or social stories for children.

Build executive functioning skills – support organisation and time management tools such as agendas or checklists. Break tasks into smaller, more manageable intervals, practising them consistently.

Reward efforts – celebrate small successes and reward effort to boost their self-esteem and reinforce stress-management skills.

Partnering with schools – maintain open communication with teachers about their stress levels, sharing with them effective strategies you use to help manage stress. Regular check-ins help identify early signs of tension, allowing parents and teachers to collaborate proactively.

For me, Stress Awareness Week reminds us of the unique challenges neurodiverse students face when managing school-related stress. By working together – parents and schools – we can create a more resilient, supportive learning environment that helps those students thrive.

For more information on Tutor Doctor, visit www.tutordoctor.co.uk/