♾️neurodiversity topic overview

My neurodiversity research currently focuses on understanding how AuDHD (Autistic ADHDers) and other neurodivergent students experience learning, assessment, and academic life in higher education.

My interest in this area grew partly from broader work on learning and teaching in higher education and on psychological measurement, and also from observing the gap between research, policy, and the everyday challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals, alongside my own lived experience.

Much of the existing literature and university provision treats Autism and ADHD separately, often overlooking how these experiences interact and shape students' learning and wellbeing. This has led me to focus on developing a better understanding of AuDHD experiences and the kinds of support that may be most effective. I am particularly interested in developing and evaluating tools that accurately capture neurodivergent experiences, and in understanding how neurodiversity intersects with learning, mental health and wellbeing, and educational outcomes.

Recent work has included co-creating the Academic Learning Experiences Questionnaire (ALEQ), a new autism-inclusive measure designed to explore how autistic students experience university learning and assessment. Current projects examine the experiences of AuDHD students in higher education, the measurement of neurodivergent traits and identities, and whether commonly used anxiety scales function equivalently across neurodivergent and neurotypical groups.

Across this work, a common goal is to ensure that the ways we measure, research, and support neurodivergent students reflect the diversity and complexity of their experiences.

✨Research highlights

📝 New autism-inclusive Questionnaire for exploring academic learning experiences

Sophie Anns, Clare Davis, Jessica Millington, & Jenny Terry (2026)

The Academic Learning Experiences Questionnaire (ALEQ) was developed to better understand how autistic students experience learning and assessment in higher education. The study identified seven distinct dimensions of learning experience and found differing response patterns between autistic and non-autistic students across several domains. The ALEQ offers a structured tool for future research exploring neurodiversity and learning in higher education.

Coming soon to Autism in Adulthood. 

Read the pre-print →

🚧current Projects & PRe-PRINTS

Lead/Senior Researcher:

• How do AuDHD students experience university?

• How can we best capture AuDHD with self-report scales?

Contributing Researcher:

• Are anxiety scales measurement-invariant across neurotypes?

• Is there a statistics awarding gap for neurodiverse students?

📑publications

Sophie Anns, Clare Davis, Jessica Millington, & Jenny Terry. (2026; in press). Validating the Academic Learning Experiences Questionnaire: Microtransitions, Sensory Reactivity and Cognitive-Attentional Dimensions in Autistic University Students. Autism in Adulthood.

Orly Klein, Carl Walker, Kim Aumann, Karin Anjos, & Jenny Terry. (2019). Peer support groups for parent-carers of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: the importance of solidarity as care. Disability & Society, 34(9–10), 1445–1461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1584090 

🗂️posters, presentations, & RESOURCES