Access support for funding, for neurodivergent people, is a pressing social justice issue
An article co-written with Rachel Pedley, founder and director of Avant Cymru a socially-engaged, neurodivergent-led, collective that dismantles barriers to opportunity through Hip Hop, issue-based theatre, film, wider arts activities/events, and community engagement work. First published on Rachel’s LinkedIn, 28 October, 2024:
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about The Lab / Y Lab, the new multi-arts venue we’ve opened in Wrexham on a shoestring budget. I mentioned that we’ve been having to advocate every step of the way for Access Support for our Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia. This means asking for funding to pay for someone to help us digest and respond to the masses of words, explanations and documents that are part of the funding application process. And that most people find easy to navigate, but we don’t.
More often than not, we’re turned down.
A funder will send an email with a point blank “No, sorry, we don’t offer funding for this.”
And another barrier is slammed in front of us.
A lack of understanding about access support and access to work for neurodivergent people
This is a social justice and access to work issue, but it’s still not given recognition in many places.
People are often surprised that because I run an organisation, can speak articulately, and have achieved things in my life, that I find processing language and reading and writing really, really difficult. I’ve had help writing this blog and the last one, because I couldn’t write it on my own.
And there are thousands like me, facing these barriers, over and over again. I’m lucky, I’m determined and I understand how things work and sometimes get lucky with funding or find funders willing to give me the support I need. But lots of people I know and work with just give up – there must be thousands of neurodivergent people who would take one look at public, statutory or charitable funding and think “That’s not for me. I can’t do that. I can’t read that, or respond in writing.”
Celebrating funders that offer Access Support, and a plea to those that don’t
The amount of words needing to be read and written for funding are a huge barrier, and giving a video submission isn’t always the solution. For example, I can find it just as difficult to process questions and respond on video as I do in written words.
So I want to celebrate the funders who do help us to access their funds by paying for Access Support – Arts Council Wales, Arts Council England, Media Cymru, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Baring Foundation …
And to celebrate the funder, Taith, that – although they didn’t offer Access Support – has listened to us and asked us to advise them on how to make their application processes more accessible for neurodivergent people. We would like more conversations like this.
Special mention also to those funders, like Arts Council Wales, who offer Easy Read versions of their guidance. But shouldn’t all guidance be ‘Easy Read’? Or is there information in the ‘standard’ documents that means we’re continuing to prejudice against those people who can’t process words and maintain the attention required?
And I’d like to encourage the funders that have refused us to think again about their processes and policies –
And for those funders to:
a) Take another look at their written communications and try to make them shorter, more accessible – to benefit everyone not just ND people. And involve ND people, as Taith have done.
b) Consider setting aside budget to offer Access Support time for Neurodivergent people. And please don’t make it compulsory to work with one of your team who may not have experience in working with ND people. I’d be interested to hear others’ views – funders, potential applicants, neurodivergent people.
How can we work together to ensure these barriers to funding aren’t continually slammed in front of us?