Neurodiversity-affirming autism training for school staff: A scoping review

Objective: This scoping review mapped the availability and content of neurodiversity-affirming autism training courses for school staff in the United Kingdom. Introduction: Autistic young people often report challenging experiences in mainstream schools, with limited teacher knowledge cited as a contributing factor. Although autism training for educators is important, access remains inconsistent, and it is unclear how far existing provision aligns with contemporary, neurodiversity-informed understandings of autism. Inclusion Criteria: The review included academic and grey literature describing training that explicitly reflected a neurodiversity-paradigm perspective. Only English language sources were eligible. Methods: The search strategy involved three stages. Stage 1 comprised database searches of APA PsycInfo, British Education Index, CINAHL, Web of Science, Teacher Reference Center, and Ovid Medline. Stage 2 used targeted keyword searches across Google, Google Scholar, EThOS, and ProQuest. Stage 3 involved email contact with content experts. Analysis included numerical analysis, deductive framework analysis, and inductive qualitative content analysis Results and Implications: Only a small proportion of training aligns with neurodiversity‑affirming principles, with most provision grounded in deficit‑based perspectives, or lacking conceptual clarity. This results in a difficult‑to‑navigate training landscape, further constrained by systemic barriers to inclusive practice. Co‑produced, research‑informed training, is required to improve school experiences for autistic pupils.