INTERAGENCY STOCKTAKE ON NEURODIVERSITY (18 October 2024)
Stocktake request:
Agencies are asked to provide information on Neurodiversity from your own administrative
perspective.
This information will help to establish a current baseline and better understand the current
landscape of Neurodiversity activity within agencies and across government.
A question guide is provided below to help guide your agency report on activity that
contributes directly or indirectly to people with Neurodiversity. This is not intended as a
definitive guide. Please adapt as required. Note the questions guide is drawn from a scoping
table attached in Appendix A.
Dimension
Question guide
Role / Function
What is your agency role – Advisory, service delivery, regulatory,
purchasing/funding/ commissioning or mix of roles?
• Providing interagency policy advice. Broadly as well as on
neurodiversity.
• Advising the Minister for Disability Issues with meeting
advice, briefings and Aide Memoires on neurodiversity
topics and meetings with groups.
• Monitoring the size, characteristics and outcomes of the
neurodiverse population along with other disability
population groups.
• Community engagement including with groups that have
neurodiverse memberships.
Authorisations
What powers do you have that relate to your Neurodiversity
activity? (e.g., children with FASD put into state care?)
• Education of, and providing feedback to, other agencies
when they are working on programmes related to
neurodiversity.
• Harvesting information from other agencies to build an
overall picture of neurodiversity outcomes.
Populations
Which neurodiverse groups do you focus on?
• Information collected on people who describe themselves
as neurodiverse or have been diagnosed with a
neurodivergent condition - Neurodivergent conditions can
include Autism/ASD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette Syndrome,
and other conditions – and those who experience
functional limitations with daily activities for six months or
more because of dif iculty concentrating or remembering,
because of anxiety and depression (affect), because of
difficulties learning, and children with dif iculties in playing
and regulating behaviour, and those who have a
developmental delay.
1
Activity
What areas of Neurodiversity activity (projects, programmes) are
you already doing and/or are considering, planning or deciding to
do as a matter of policy to become involved in?
N/A
Funding &
What services do you provide for Neurodiversity, both specific
Services
Neurodiverse services/funding and broader services/funding that
could include Neurodiversity?
What and how much funding is involved?
• The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha (the Ministry)
manages a nominations database open to disabled
including neurodiverse people. This is part of a strategy to
increase diversity on public sector boards and advisory
groups.
System
Who do you work with and how?
participation &
What is the extent of your collaboration and/or coordination with
engagements
other government agencies, NGOs and community and
consumers?
• We work with impairment specific agencies such as Autism
NZ in instances including requests to meet with the
Minister.
• The Ministry works with a range of disability community
groups, this includes specific interactions and also the
participation in specific advisory groups and networks.
• These networks incorporate a range of disability or
impairment groups, including neurodiversity. This generally
includes FASD-CAN, Autism NZ and Altogether Autism.
• The CE and senior leadership team also regularly connects
with these groups.
• FASD-CAN has established regular quarterly meetings with
the Ministry to maintain open communications.
Knowledge, data
• What information do you collect, research has been done or is
& insights
underway, knowledge you have or are building, including on
good practice and sector voice/priorities/identified barriers that
relates to Neurodiversity?
• 2025 wil see the collection of Te Taunaki with a new question
on neurodiversity, which wil allow the disaggregation of public
servant’s experiences by those who are neurodivergent. The
Public Service Commission wil analyse and publish the
results.
• 2023 Disability Survey wil be out in 2025 and include
information on neurodivergent people and their use of
assistant equipment and technology, those who receive
personal and household support, use of health services,
access to schooling, employment, housing, transport, leisure,
and overall wellbeing. Stats NZ and the Ministry will publish
data and reports.
• s9(2)(f)(iv)
2
s9(2)(f)(iv)
.
• Report on the 2013 Disability Survey found that one third of
disabled children are neurodivergent, although the report did
not use this term (p.8) This includes conditions on the autism
spectrum, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and
developmental delay, as well as dyslexia and dyspraxia. While
these conditions may have existed at birth they are not usually
identified until later, and may be regarded by parents or
caregivers as not having been present at birth.
• FigureNZ is an NGO that publishes information collected by
government agencies, with a specific focus on disability. See
https://figure.nz/search/?query=autism and
https://figure.nz/search/?query=learning%20impairment for
example.
• Visit the Donald Beasley Institute for research that includes
outcomes of neurodivergent people e.g. quality of life, planned
parenthood for adults with learning disabilities
www.donaldbeasley.org.nz/publications/
• Visit Education Counts for characteristics of ORS students,
many of whom are neurodivergent
https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/ongoing-
resourcing-scheme
Next steps:
1. Deadline for agency responses
29 November 2024
2. Engage with agencies to check and confirm their responses 2 – 13 December 2024
3. Collation of responses
22 December 2024
4. Analysis and agency discussion on findings
Jan-Feb 2025
5. Draft Stocktake report to agencies for comment
17 -28 February 2025
6. Stocktake report to Minister Doocey
31 March 2025
Contact for queries and return of stocktake by Friday 29 November:
Out of scope
Ministry of Health
Out of scope
Potentially helpful information:
•
NZ Disability Strategy 2016 – 2026
•
Summary of progress on the FASD Action Plan to 2022
• MoH Briefi
ng on FASD current work and future opportunities
3
•
Eligibility for Disability Support Services
•
Autism Support Services
•
Te Pou e-Learning course on Neurodiversity
• MoE Briefi
ng on Understanding Neurodiversity from a Te Ao Māori perspective
•
Literature review of research about Neurodiversity from a Te Ao Māori perspective
•
Autism Guideline: He Waka Huia Takiwatānga Rau
•
Disability and data statistics
• Mo
H Briefing – Overview on Neurodiversity
•
Growing up in New Zealand – Neurodiversity
• Ministry of Health regulation of health, disability and residential services –
HealthCERT
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