At Growing Different, our goal is to help children with complex neurodevelopmental needs and their families lead fulfilling, confident lives.
We aim to increase understanding by providing clear, trusted information, practical signposting for parents, and contributing to research and education.
Our work highlights the strengths of neurodivergent children. We encourage a joined-up approach that recognises each person’s unique profile and needs. While we do not provide individual advice, we create accessible resources that families can use.
Thank you to the children and young people who helped shape the name and drew the artwork for our logo.
The system is set up around a main diagnosis, which can be useful for services and recognition. However, each individual is unique. Even within a diagnosis, there can be huge variation. Sometimes, this means that services don’t join up and overlook issues.
As a parent, trying to advocate for the varied needs of a child can be daunting. Growing Different aims to make it easier for parents by supporting a more tailored approach, and highlighting lesser-known areas and strengths.
We are parents, young people and professionals who have lived experience of complex neurodevelopmental differences. We know first hand the difficulties of juggling different services and neurodivergence.
It has been a busy start to 2026. Growing Different has connected with the community at family events, and also shared our parent survey findings with public health and neuroscience. We are working on some exciting new resources:
We are proud to share our parent survey on health literacy in the UK and Europe. We presented a poster at the East of England Public Health Conference 2026 and won Best Poster.
We also presented at the European Public Health Conference 2025, Managing complexity: addressing information gaps in neurodevelopmental differences. The findings highlight a need for co-produced, accessible, and strength-based resources that reflect the layered nature of neurodevelopmental differences.
We shared our findings on hyperlexia (reading early) and neurodevelopmental differences with our survey poster at the 36th Cambridge Neuroscience Seminar 2026. 1 in 4 parents reported that their children read early, most not understanding all that they read. Our survey showed that many children showed a unique decoding ability not always linked to meaning.
If you’d like a copy of the full report or to quote or share these findings, please get in touch through our contact page.
Out and about — meeting families
Earlier in 2026 we were out and about meeting families in the area that we are based.
We ran a stall at the Thriving Beyond the Label Community Event in Cambridge — a warm, welcoming afternoon spent connecting with neurodivergent families, hearing their experiences. We shared our draft new resources, getting valuable views and ideas from the families we create them for.
Just days later we were at the Pinpoint Cambridgeshire Annual Conference in St Ives. This year’s theme was Empowering Families, and it brought together parent carers, professionals and local services for a day of real conversation about what families with children with SEND need and deserve.
Many thanks to those who organised these inspiring and useful events.
These events remind us why we do what we do.
Every conversation with a family shapes the resources we create.
This site gives general information, not medical advice. We share information and resources, but we can’t offer individual or one-to-one support. Always check with a professional before making decisions about your child.
Disclaimer
The content on this website is provided for general information only. It should not be construed as medical advice, and it is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. Before making any decisions based on the content of this website you are strongly advised to obtain professional or specialist advice.
Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on our website, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our website is accurate, complete or up-to-date, and we are not liable or responsible for any decision taken as a result. Please note that using automated summariser or translation tools may affect the accuracy of the information presented here.
The PIF Tick for trusted health information
We’re proud to hold the PIF Tick, the UK-wide quality mark for trusted, accessible health information. It is a sign of our commitment to clarity, inclusion, and evidence-based resources. Find out more about the PIF Tick here.
Supported by
This project has been made possible with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and the CPCA (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority), delivered through Allia Impact Ltd.
