Leader: Awareness of neurodiversity is welcome

Rise in young people and their families seeking support thanks to impact of celebrities such as Lewis Capaldi

Anyone who watched Lewis Capaldi’s performance at last year’s Glastonbury Festival would have been moved by his struggle to overcome Tourette’s as he tried to complete his set.

The Scottish singer is one of a number of celebrities credited with encouraging more young people and their families to seek support and help “normalise the conversation” around neurodiversity.

The Salvesen Mindroom Centre in Edinburgh has seen an 18 per cent increase in people seeking help with autism, dyslexia, ADHD and Tourette’s over the past year, and its chief executive officer Alan Thornburrow says demand is “absolutely certain to rise further”.

Often the acknowledgement of a problem is the biggest obstacle in the way of it being overcome.

Therefore the increase in awareness of neurodiversity, thanks in part to prominent figures such as Capaldi, can only help more people find the strength and support they need to prevent such conditions from holding them back in life.