Dr Lauren Powell

BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, SFHEA

School of Education

Director of MSc Psychology and Education (Conversion)

EDU - photo of lauren powell
Profile picture of EDU - photo of lauren powell
l.a.powell@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 8179
The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Lauren Powell
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Research interests

Lauren’s research foregrounds the voices of neurodivergent individuals through innovative, participatory, and co-produced methodologies that centre lived experience. Her work challenges deficit-based models of neurodivergence and traditional psychoeducation, advocating instead for approaches that affirm neurodivergence as a natural and valuable part of human diversity.

A major strand of Lauren’s work focuses on ensuring that children and young people are not spoken for through proxies but are meaningfully informed about their neurodivergence in ways that are age-appropriate, accessible, and strengths-based. She has led the co-production of two nationally adopted psychoeducational resources:

  • The ADHD Hero Activity Book, co-created with ADHD children and young people
  • Learning About Autism, co-created with autistic children and young people

These resources are now used across the UK by NHS services, schools, local authorities, and third-sector organisations.

Increasingly, Lauren’s research contributes directly to national policy. She is a co-author of several Child of the North parliamentary reports, including those addressing the autism assessment and support crisis, SEND/alternative provisions in the UK, and early years inequalities. She led the authorship of the 2024 early years report and co-authored its 2025 update , both part of the national A Country That Works for All Children and Young People campaign. Lauren is also a co-author of a Health Equity North  parliamentary report examining health inequities affecting girls and women in the North of England, with a particular focus on neurodivergent girls and women. Additionally, she is a named contributor to the 2025 Time to Deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the New Autism Strategy review.

Drawing on both her research and her lived experience as a late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD academic woman, Lauren delivers training and consultancy for universities, local authorities, and schools. She supports organisations to embed neuroinclusive practices that affirm identity, reduce barriers to participation, and disrupt ableist assumptions in education and research.

Lauren welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral students interested in qualitative, participatory, and co-produced research on topics such as:

  • The development and evaluation of psychoeducational resources and interventions for neurodivergent children and young people, and the psychoeducational needs of parents, carers, and professionals
  • Transitions across the lives of neurodivergent children and young people (e.g., primary to secondary school, or into higher education)
  • The lived experiences of autistic and/or ADHD girls and women
  • The motivations, pathways, and experiences of adults seeking an ADHD and/or autism diagnosis
Publications

Journal articles

Other

Teaching interests

Lauren is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and Director of the MSc Psychology and Education (Conversion) programme. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the School of Education, with a focus on creating inclusive, engaging, and neuroaffirming learning environments.

Her teaching draws on her interdisciplinary research and her lived experience as an autistic and ADHD academic woman to promote a nuanced, critical, and strengths-based understanding of child development, neurodiversity, and psychoeducation. Lauren leads teaching in child psychology, qualitative and participatory research methods, and postgraduate research supervision. She also contributes to modules on neurodiversity across childhood and adolescence, with particular emphasis on supporting autistic and ADHD individuals.

Lauren is committed to embedding neuroinclusive, accessible, and participatory practices across higher education. She champions student voice, flexibility, and varied assessment methods, and works to ensure that neurodivergent perspectives are meaningfully integrated throughout the curriculum. She also provides training and consultancy to university departments, schools, and local authorities on neuroinclusive pedagogy and the development of practices that reduce barriers to learning and participation.

Professional activities and memberships

Links

iHuman  Education and Psychology Cluster