Why Individualised Support for Neurodivergent Pupils Isn’t Optional Anymore

“You don’t necessarily need labels. You just need compassion - to meet the needs of the child in front of you.”

-       Anna Maxwell Martin, BBC Woman’s Hour

When Anna Maxwell Martin spoke on BBC Woman’s Hour, she gave voice to what many families and teachers already know but often can’t say aloud:

We are failing to deliver individualised support for neurodivergent pupils.

And that’s not just unfortunate.

It’s often unlawful and always unfair.

Schools are expected - in some cases required - to provide personalised support for pupils with additional needs. But even with the best will and skill, most simply don’t have the time, tools, or capacity to deliver this support in the way each child deserves.

Teachers are doing their best. So are learning support staff and SENCOs. But the system wasn’t built for personalisation at scale. And pupils who are fearful, overwhelmed, or struggling with hidden learning difficulties are too often mislabelled as disruptive or disengaged, when in fact, their needs are simply not being met.

The Case for Change

“It’s a jigsaw of different things.”

- Anna Maxwell Martin

Neurodivergent pupils often face a combination of learning, emotional, and sensory differences that don’t fit neatly into fixed categories. And while diagnostic labels can sometimes help unlock resources, they’re not the solution.

What’s needed is individualised support for neurodivergent pupils - grounded not in labels, but in understanding.

That’s the message at the heart of Anna’s powerful interview. And it’s the foundation Taylo is being built on.

Why We’re Building Taylo

Taylo is an AI-powered teaching assistant being designed to do something both simple and transformative:

To know the child.

Taylo provides real-time, expert-led teaching support tailored to each pupil’s individual needs, learning preferences, and emotional state. It doesn’t just deliver content. It listens. It adapts. It grows with the pupil.

This means pupils are met where they are - not just academically, but emotionally and cognitively too.

It’s not a replacement for teachers.

It’s a way to scale person-centred support in classrooms that are too stretched to offer it to everyone who needs it.

Taylo is being developed to deliver exactly what’s missing:

Individualised support for neurodivergent pupils - with the consistency, care, and adaptability that current systems simply cannot provide.

A More Inclusive Future

Providing individualised support for neurodivergent pupils is no longer a luxury or a hopeful aspiration. It is a moral imperative and in many cases, a legal requirement.

But more than that, it’s what inclusion really means.

Taylo was born from this understanding. It is being shaped by conversations with leading voices in neurodiversity, schools on the front line, and families navigating the system every day.

We are especially grateful to Anna Maxwell Martin for articulating the heart of the problem - and to @Nuala McGovern, @BBC Woman’s Hour, and @BBC Radio 4 for making this conversation visible and urgent.

We are also learning from - and listening to - inspiring organisations such as Neurodiversity in Scottish Schools and The Beautiful Collection, who continue to push for meaningful, compassionate inclusion.

Watch the clip

Join the Movement

Taylo is currently being piloted in schools, helping to bring personalised, inclusive support to classrooms across the UK.

If you’re a teacher, SENCO, parent, or learning support lead who wants to deliver individualised support for neurodivergent pupils, we’d love to connect.

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