A community for people who know the education system isn't meeting the needs of neurodivergent learners — or the ecosystem of people who support them.
Follow @helenswayauOur purpose
Helen's Way exists to build that voice. We bring together the insights of everyone in the ecosystem — parents, educators, allied health professionals, researchers, advocates, and policymakers — to create a shared picture of the barriers, the impacts, and the solutions. Together, we build a reform agenda that is grounded in shared lived experience and impossible to ignore.
We call this group the community. And we believe there is extraordinary power in aligning what we know — because when collective insight speaks in one direction, systems change.
Read our storyWhat we mean
Helen’s Way is for anyone with any sort of experience — either as a neurodivergent learner yourself (see below for what we mean by that), or supporting a neurodivergent learner, or supporting those who support neurodivergent learners. We are an ecosystem, and we’re interested in everybody’s insights. Parents and caregivers, their families and friends, educators, teachers, learning support teams, allied health professionals, specialist consulting services, researchers, advocacy groups and community organisations all belong here.
By neurodivergent we mean learners whose minds work differently from the “typical” — autistic students and those with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, auditory processing disorder and other sensory processing differences, developmental language disorder, Tourette’s and other tic disorders, and twice-exceptional (gifted and neurodivergent) learners, among others. Neurodiversity is the idea that these differences are a natural, valuable part of being human — not deficits to fix — whether formally diagnosed, waiting for assessment, or self-identified.
Read our full statement →The scale of the problem
Up to 20% of Australian school students are estimated to be neurodivergent. More than one in four — 27% — are now formally classified as requiring educational adjustment due to disability. That's over one million children, in classrooms across every state and territory, whose needs the system is legally required to meet.
The data on how well that's going is not encouraging. Autistic students are three times more likely to be absent from school than their neurotypical peers. Students with ADHD miss an average of 10.5 school days per year — and for the many children carrying co-occurring diagnoses, absence rates climb significantly higher.
Families are responding by leaving. Registered homeschooling numbers are 92% higher nationally in 2024 than they were in 2020. In NSW alone, registrations more than doubled between 2019 and 2024. In Queensland, secondary-age registrations grew by 167% over the same period. Enrolments in special assistance schools have grown fivefold since 2016. Researchers have documented an 85% rise in "accidental homeschoolers" — parents who did not set out to homeschool, but found it the only option left.
A 2023 survey of 1,000 Australian families found that 39% said their child had been unable to attend school in the past year due to anxiety or stress. Behind every one of these numbers is a family absorbing what the system cannot provide — often at significant cost to their own employment, mental health, and wellbeing.
All figures are Australian unless otherwise indicated. Sources linked inline. Last reviewed June 2026.
You belong here
In this community, your experience — whatever form it takes — is expertise. Here's what that looks like for each part of our community:
You know your child. You've attended every meeting, appealed every decision, and held them through every hard day. That knowledge belongs here.
Past or present, your experience of education is the evidence at the heart of everything we do. You don't need to speak for everyone — just yourself. That's enough.
You work within the system — and you see what families often can't. Your perspective, your frustrations, and your ideas for change are just as valuable as any other.
You sit in the space between schools and families. You understand the gaps more intimately than most. We want to hear from you too.
Academic and independent researchers whose work can validate shared lived experience, surface patterns across communities, and provide the rigorous evidence base that policymakers need to act.
Professional bodies, family members, friends, and colleagues who champion the rights of neurodivergent learners — your voice carries weight, and this community's evidence can sharpen it.
Consultants and specialist services who work alongside schools, families and organisations to support neurodivergent learners. You see what works across many settings — that practical, cross-context expertise helps turn shared experience into everyday practice.
Boards, education governance bodies, and parliamentarians ready to listen first and act with confidence — this community has the evidence you need.
How we work together
Each space has its own focus and its own way of contributing. Enter the one that feels most relevant to you — or explore all three.
Space 01 · the evidence base
What you can do here
Space 02
What you can do here
Space 03
What you can do here
How the spaces work together
The three spaces are designed to feed each other — turning individual experience into collective action, and collective action into lasting change.
Add your data to the evidence base — quantified evidence from across the community that makes the case undeniable.
Surface ideas for system-wide change. Name what better systems could look like — from multiple vantage points.
Channel experience and ideas into the four headline reform priorities. Build the voice that decision-makers can no longer ignore.
Follow our story
We share stories, updates and moments from our community on Instagram — follow along to stay connected, and if you have a story to share, tag us or send a message.
Community calendar
Webinars, community conversations, workshops, and advocacy opportunities — open to everyone in the Helen's Way community. Dates to be confirmed.
The data collection that shapes how schools fund support for your child — yet most families have never heard of it. This webinar breaks down what NCCD is, how it works, and how to advocate effectively within the current system.
A practical workshop unpacking NCCD, NDIS school supports, and state-based funding models — what your child is entitled to, how to request it, and what to do when a school says no.
Practical tools for community advocacy: engaging politicians and policymakers, using submissions and inquiries, sharing your story effectively, and translating the Helen's Way reform agenda into real action.
A panel bringing together educators, researchers, parent advocates, and neurodivergent adults to explore what genuine inclusion means in practice — not as compliance, but as design.
Knowledge base
A growing, fully-referenced library — Helen’s Way’s own briefs, submissions and explainers alongside the key government reports, research and advocacy sources behind our work. Here’s one from each part of the collection.
✊ Helen’s Way
Our plain-language infographic on the NSW draft disability plan — what it gets right, and where it must go further for students.
View infographic →🏛️ Federal Government
The landmark findings on inclusive education, employment and housing for people with disability.
See federal reports →🏛️ NSW Government
The NSW Department of Education draft plan — the reform we’re actively responding to.
See NSW reports →🔬 Research & Academic
AERO’s evidence review on what actually works in the classroom for neurodivergent learners.
See the research →🤝 Advocacy Groups
The national peak body’s campaign for inclusive education — data, position and demands.
See advocacy voices →🩺 Professional & Therapy Bodies
Professional-body guidance on supporting communication, access and learning in schools.
See professional bodies →