the evidence base

The Tracker

Add your numbers to the evidence base — showing the scale and reach of a system that needs reform. Every data point helps build a case that's impossible to ignore.

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✦ Founding voices
Help us reach 500 data points across Australia. Imagine the impact that will have.Just getting started

Be one of the first to add your experience — the live count appears here once the evidence base is growing.

Add your lived experience insights here →
Who this is for

Not sure if this includes you?

This space is for anyone with any sort of experience — either as a neurodivergent learner yourself (see below for what we mean by that), or supporting a neurodivergent learner, or supporting those who support neurodivergent learners. We are an ecosystem, and we’re interested in everybody’s insights. Parents and caregivers, their families and friends, educators, teachers, learning support teams, Medical & Allied Health professionals, specialist consulting services, researchers, advocacy groups and community organisations all belong here.

By neurodivergent learner we mean any student — across early childhood, school, university, TAFE or another learning pathway — who is considered neurodivergent, whether formally diagnosed or not: for example, autistic students, or those who have ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, auditory processing disorder or other sensory processing differences, developmental language disorder, Tourette’s or other tic disorders, or who are twice-exceptional (gifted and neurodivergent), among others. Neurodiversity is the idea that these differences are a natural, valuable part of being human — not deficits to fix. You belong here whether you’re formally diagnosed, waiting for assessment, or self-identified — what matters is your experience, not a label.

Our focus is on experience within mainstream education providers. We really want to hear from learners whose mainstream experience led them to leave it, for home schooling, distance education or other settings, as well as all those connected with supporting these students and their families.

Helen’s Way isn’t here to blame individuals or individual providers. We see that education systems are overstretched, and that so many dedicated teachers and learning support teams are doing their very best. We’re with you — we want you better supported, so you feel equipped to support neurodivergent learners the way you want to.

Please join us, and we can raise our voices together.

Read what we mean →
1 in 5 Australian students are estimated to be neurodivergent Source: Square Holes, 2025
27% now formally recognised as needing an adjustment for disability Source: NCCD / The Conversation, 2025
1.1M+ children across Australia Source: ACARA, 2025
Are these 1.1M+ kids being supported in schools across Australia at the moment? Let us know what you think — add your experience below →

Not isolated — a pattern

One family's experience is easy to overlook. Hundreds of data points revealing the same challenges across every state, every school type, every community tells a different story — one that is hard to set aside and points clearly to where change is needed.

The evidence is already there.

Previous inquiries and reviews have already documented the problem and called for the same reforms. This tracker isn't about generating more evidence for another report — it's about showing the scale and reach of a community that is ready for those reforms to be implemented.

Scale helps governing systems act

System change — in policy, infrastructure, governance, and culture — requires the people with actual authority to implement it. This data helps make the scale of need visible and tangible to those decision-makers, giving them a clearer picture of what the community is experiencing.

Data distribution

By contributor type
By school type
By education stage
Concerns at transition points
Barriers reported
Impacts reported

Breakdown

Add your numbers.

No names of schools, services, or people. Do not name a specific diagnosis or type of neurodiversity. Just the data — your role, location, postcode, and electorate, showing where this is happening and how long it has been going on.

Who can complete this form: it’s intended for people aged 15 and over. If you’re younger than 15, please talk with a parent or caregiver about submitting your responses on your behalf.

Not sure? Look up your federal electorate by address (AEC) →

This is your local state seat, not your state. Not sure? Your state or territory electoral commission's website has an address lookup for your seat.

Which learning years were affected? (tick all that apply)
Pre-school
Primary school
High school
TAFE / VET
University
Other
Concerns at transition points (tick any that apply)
School / institution type (tick all that apply)
Areas of researchTick all that apply
Systemic barriers my research identifiesTick all that apply
Impacts on students your research documentsTick all that apply
Impacts on families your research documentsTick all that apply
Barriers experiencedTick all that apply
Barriers I experiencedTick all that apply
Barriers I've encounteredTick all that apply
Personal impacts on meTick all that apply
Barriers I've observed in schoolsTick all that apply
Personal impacts on meTick all that apply
Systemic barriers we seeTick all that apply
Impacts on students your organisation documentsTick all that apply
Impacts on families your organisation documentsTick all that apply
Impacts I've witnessed on the learnerTick all that apply
Impacts I've witnessed on parents / caregiversTick all that apply
Impacts I've witnessed on educator colleaguesTick all that apply
Barriers I experienced at schoolTick all that apply
Long-term impacts on meTick all that apply
Barriers I encounter in my roleTick all that apply
Personal impacts on meTick all that apply
What I'm hearing from my communityTick all that apply
What would help me actTick all that apply
Concerns I want to raiseTick all that apply
Impact on studentTick all that apply
Impact on parents / caregiversTick all that apply

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