The early years of a child’s life are filled with rapid growth, discovery, and development. For many children, these formative stages are when their unique ways of learning, communicating, and experiencing the world first become visible.
This is why early years practitioners - nursery staff, preschool teachers, and childcare professionals - play such a critical role. They are often the first adults outside the family to regularly observe a child’s behaviours, strengths, and challenges in a group setting.
Spotting signs of neurodiversity, whether it’s autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or other developmental differences, early on can make an enormous difference to a child’s journey. Early recognition doesn’t mean rushing to label, but rather noticing patterns, providing support, and opening conversations with families and specialists.
When staff are equipped with awareness and sensitivity, they can help ensure that children are not only included but also celebrated for the ways they see and interact with the world. Early identification can help reduce stigma and promote inclusion from the start, ensuring children receive support tailored to achieve the best outcomes.
Throughout this blog, you’ll discover how early career teachers can confidently observe and support children showing signs of neurodiversity, such as ADHD, autism and dyslexia.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity refers to the natural variations in brain functioning that influence learning, social interaction, sensory processing and behaviour. Neurodiversity highlights the range of individual differences in cognitive and behavioural traits, viewing them as part of the normal spectrum of human diversity rather than as deficits.
What are some of the conditions that fall under neurodiversity?
Some of the conditions that fall under the neurodiversity umbrella include:
- Dyslexia.
- Dyspraxia (also called Developmental Coordination Disorder, or DCD)
- Dyscalculia.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- Tourette Syndrome and other tic disorders.
- Epilepsy.
What is the role of early years staff?
The role of early years staff is to support young children’s development and wellbeing by providing care and purposeful play in a positive learning environment. Their roles include planning activities, ensuring children progress and maintaining health and safety standards.
Early years staff are also responsible for safeguarding children and responding to signs of harm or neglect. They must ensure young children feel safe, included and encouraged to learn, a responsibility that is especially important and challenging with those under 5.
Young children may struggle to express their feelings and neurodivergent children may communicate differently or need extra support to thrive in the learning environment.
Early years staff are responsible for building trusting relationships with children and families, as well as observing and documenting developmental differences.
Recognising early signs of neurodiversity helps ensure children receive the guidance and resources they need at the right time.
How can early years staff recognise neurodiversity early?
Ways early years staff recognise neurodiversity early, include:
- Observe.
- Document observations.
- Consult with staff.
- Communicate with parents.
Observe
An essential part of an early years teacher’s role is to observe and record children’s progress and adapt to their needs. To identify neurodiversity early, staff should pay attention to behaviour, communication, routines and movement.
In the classroom, this may include difficulties with social cues, making friends, or speech and language development, all indicators linked to conditions such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia.
Behaviour and routines can also provide clues, such as a strong preference for routine, resistance to change or repetitive actions and fixations. Sensory differences may also be present, with some children being highly sensitive (or less responsive) to light, sound, touch, smells or crowds.
Focus and movement are another key area to observe. One child may find it difficult to sit still during group activities, while another may become deeply absorbed in one task for long periods of time. These patterns offer valuable insights into a child’s strengths as well as areas where extra support may be needed.
What should early years staff look for to recognise neurodiversity?
Early signs of neurodiversity in young children, include:
- Delayed milestones such as no babbling by 12 months, no single words by 16 months or no two-word phrases by age 2.
- Social responsiveness for example a lack of smiling, poor eye contact or not responding to their name.
- Repetitive behaviours such as lining up toys or repeating actions frequently.
- Social and communication differences.
- Unusual reactions to sounds, lights, textures or smells.
- Unusual play patterns, restricted interests or behavioural differences.
Document observations
Observing children for every movement, behaviour and social interaction is crucial and could lead to a child receiving the support and confidence they need to thrive from a young age. It is important that early years staff keep a record of observed behaviours, including when and how often they occur.
Continuous observation and keeping a record of observations can help educators gather useful information and insights into how different pupils learn, communicate and process information. This can help teachers spot neurodiversity early and helps teachers understand how best to support individual pupils and plan activities.
By carefully observing and documenting developmental differences, teachers can provide tailored support for each child. This enables them to plan activities and provide resources that meet the needs of individual pupils.
Consult with staff
Before speaking with parents and caregivers, staff should share concerns with colleagues, SENCOs or support specialists within the setting. This helps ensure observations are accurate and that concerns are not raised prematurely.
Consulting with other members of staff allows early years teachers to create a clearer picture of a child’s needs and to decide on appropriate next steps for support. These discussions can help identify whether the behaviours seen are typical developmental variations or early signs of neurodiversity that may benefit from additional support.
Communicate with parents
In addition to building relationships with students and colleagues, it is important that early years staff share their observations or concerns with parents. This helps gather valuable perspectives and insights about the child’s experiences at home.
Sharing observations with parents and caregivers, allows early years teachers to better understand their pupils and how best to support them. It also ensures that both parties know when and how to seek specialist input and navigate referral pathways and resources.
Through open communication and collaboration with parents, early years teachers can help identify signs of neurodiversity early to ensure children receive the best possible care and support.