What is a neurodivergence consultant, and does your organisation need one?
Neurodivergence has moved up the workplace agenda rapidly. More employees are disclosing. More organisations are being asked to provide reasonable adjustments. More productions are encountering access coordinators and access passports for the first time. And alongside this, a new category of support professional has emerged: the neurodivergence consultant.
But what does a neurodivergence consultant actually do? And how do you know whether your organisation needs one?
What a neurodivergence consultant is – and what it is not
A neurodivergence consultant is not a therapist or a substitute for clinical diagnosis or medical or psychological support. They are specialists who help organisations understand neurodivergence and build working environments, processes, and cultures that work for neurodivergent people.
The work can look quite different depending on the organisation. In a corporate HR context, it might mean reviewing policies and designing an inclusion strategy. In a production context, it might mean working with a Producer or welfare team to embed reasonable adjustments from the outset, or advising on how to portray a neurodivergent character authentically in a script.
The role exists because most generic diversity and inclusion provision does not adequately cover neurodivergence and what provision does exist is rarely designed for specific industries.
A good neurodivergence consultant brings three things: psychological and theoretical knowledge of neurodivergence, practical experience of how workplaces actually function, and - critically - lived neurodivergent experience. This last point matters more than it might appear. Neurodivergence is not fully legible from the outside. The experience of masking, of sensory overload in a specific context, of executive function fluctuating under pressure are not things that can be fully understood from clinical literature alone.
What consultancy actually involves
Neurodivergence consultancy usually begins with a needs assessment, understanding where the organisation currently is, what is working, and where the friction points are. This is different from a training needs analysis, which tends to assume the answer is training. Sometimes training is exactly what is needed. Sometimes the problem is structural, and no amount of awareness sessions will fix a policy that systematically disadvantages neurodivergent employees.
The work might then involve designing and delivering training sessions, for senior leaders, for HR teams, for whole departments. It might involve reviewing policies and documentation for inadvertent barriers. It might involve working directly with a neurodivergent individual and their manager to develop a support plan that is workable for both parties. In a production context, it might involve being on-call during a shoot to advise on access needs as they arise.
How is it different from neurodivergence training?
Training is a component of consultancy, not a synonym for it. A training session builds awareness and skills in a group. Consultancy looks at the organisation as a system and asks what needs to change, in culture, structure, communication and process, to enable neurodivergent people to thrive.
Many organisations start with training because it is tangible and deliverable. But training that sits in isolation and is not connected to any structural review, not followed up, not embedded in how the organisation actually operates, has a limited shelf life. The awareness fades and the behaviours revert. The neurodivergent employees who were briefly hopeful become quietly more resigned.
Consultancy, at its best, creates the conditions for training to stick.
Does your organisation need one?
A few questions worth asking honestly:
Do you have neurodivergent employees who have disclosed their needs, and are those needs currently being met in a workable way, or are they being accommodated on a case-by-case basis without any consistent framework?
Have you had a grievance, an employment tribunal claim, or a significant piece of feedback that relates to how a neurodivergent person was managed? A reactive response to a specific incident is not the same as a structural solution.
Are you in an industry with a high concentration of neurodivergent professionals, and does your current provision reflect that reality, or is it generic DEI content that could have been written for any sector?
Are you about to make a significant organisational change, a restructure, a new production, a return to office, that will disproportionately affect neurodivergent employees if it is not thought through carefully?
If any of these questions gave you pause, the answer to 'do you need a consultant' is probably yes or, at minimum, a conversation
What to look for when hiring one
The field is not regulated, which means the quality varies significantly. When evaluating a neurodivergence consultant, look for lived experience alongside theoretical knowledge. Look for specific experience in your sector - generic workplace expertise does not translate directly to a production environment and someone who has never worked in your industry will miss things that matter. Look for evidence of outcomes, not just activities: case studies, client testimonials, concrete examples of what changed as a result of the work.
Be sceptical of off-the-shelf programmes presented as consultancy. Real consultancy starts with listening, not with a pre-packaged solution.
NeuroJungle provides neurodivergence consultancy and training for the film and television industry, and for organisations outside it. To discuss your organisation's needs, get in touch at hello@neurojungle.co.uk.