We know that being neurodivergent in a ‘neurotypical world’ can lead to extra daily challenges or difficulties. Right now, though, there is no large-scale data on the experiences of homeless families with neurodivergent children living in the UK.
Dr Rosalie Warnock, King’s College London
19 May 2025
Experiences of neurodivergent children's lives in temporary accommodation sought
Nationwide call wants evidence from current and former homeless families
A first of its kind national call for evidence has been launched this week on life in temporary accommodation for families in the UK with a neurodivergent child.
The team behind the call are seeking parents, carers or professionals who support families, to share their experiences on what it is like to live in temporary accommodation and the impact such stays are having in the short and longer term on neurodivergent children’s health, wellbeing, and education.
According to the lead researcher on the project, Dr Rosalie Warnock, there is a “shocking lack of data” on the problem - including just how many of the UK’s 165,000 children in temporary accommodation are neurodivergent.
The call is a partnership between researchers at King’s College London, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation, Shared Health Foundation, and Autistica, the UK’s leading autism research and campaigning charity.
It will run for five weeks between 19 May and 20 June 2025, with its findings launched in Westminster at a meeting of the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation in late 2025 or early 2026.
It comes after last year’s study into the thousands of homeless households – including children – stuck in temporary accommodation in England because of council rules on housing-debt.
King’s Professor, Katherine Brickell, a researcher on both that and the current study, said: “Our goal is to encourage as many current and former residents of temporary accommodation as possible to be able to share their evidence. Because we know how hard it is to get an assessment for conditions such as autism, this call is open to people who suspect their child is neurodivergent.
“It is important that we gather as many, and as diverse, stories and experiences as we can”.
In England alone, there are over 165,000 children in temporary accommodation with Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, describing these figures as a "national scandal”.
Agata Ostaszewska, Neurodiversity, Participation and Impact Lead at Autistica, said: “We want every autistic person to live a happy and healthy life. The child homelessness emergency risks undermining this goal.”
The national call for evidence is supported by Research England, and is part of the larger Leverhulme-funded study ‘Sensory Lives’.
Sam Pratt, Policy Lead for Shared Health Foundation, a co-secretariat of the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation said: “So we can campaign for change and improvements for children and their families, we need to build a picture of what the reality of living in temporary accommodation with a neurodivergent child is like in the UK right now.”
The findings will be launched in Westminster at a meeting of the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation in late 2025 or early 2026.
People can find details of how to respond to the call at: www.sensorylivesproject.org/national-call-for-evidence
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British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow
Professor of Urban Studies