Over 60 million American children play organized sports, with oversight from 8 million volunteer coaches. Twenty percent of these students are broadly neurodiverse, with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, or autism. However, few coaches receive training on the needs of neurodiverse athletes in sports and recreation settings, where social demands can be overwhelming. Many traditional coaching methods don’t apply to neurodiverse athletes. As a result, coaches often fail and inadvertently create environments where neurodiverse athletes leave the sport with unsavory memories and never return.

Inclusive sports coaching creates an environment where all athletes have equal opportunities and standards, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or identities. It also incorporates the concept of inclusion, where coaches recognize and value the differences among the athletes who form various teams or sports organizations. Here are some of the many benefits of inclusion in organized sports:

• Equity and Fairness: Inclusive coaching ensures that all athletes have an equal opportunity to participate, develop, and achieve. This approach teaches us to break down obstacles that could inhibit some demographics from fully participating in athletics.
• Team Diversity: Diverse teams offer different experiences and abilities. Diversity among players encourages creative problem-solving and fosters better dynamics for team functioning. Inclusive coaching creates a space where these various strengths are acknowledged and leveraged.
• Inclusion and Engagement: Athletes who feel included and valued are likely to be more motivated, committed, and engaged. Athletes across the performance spectrum benefit from inclusive coaching and are primed to embrace their potential. By understanding each athlete’s needs and strengths, coaches can adapt their approaches to ensure success.

Neurodiverse individuals participate in sports at a lower rate than the general population. Despite greater awareness, systemic barriers continue to exclude neurodiverse individuals from organized sports. To level the playing field, we need to address these barriers and reimagine the pipeline for neurodiverse athletes, from youth programs through competitive, collegiate, and professional stages.

Old-school coaching is high-pressure, promoting uniformity and discipline. Most certifications teach coaches to guide athletes through inferences to solve problems instead of providing experience-based information. Athletic coaching vocabulary is saturated with metaphors. For example, a coach might talk about a team overcoming obstacles as “climbing a mountain.” For many neurodivergent individuals, metaphors can be confusing because they tend to process language more literally. The phrase “time flies” may catch some neurodiverse individuals off guard, as time cannot literally fly. Literal-minded thinking often means figurative language requires extra decoding, as neurodiverse people prioritize the surface meaning of words over their implied or symbolic significance.

Sensory processing differences can also make athletics overwhelming and demotivating. For example, an athlete might have difficulty focusing in the presence of excessive background noise.

The problem is perpetuated by the training available to coaches. Most sports training programs do not include modules on neurodiversity, meaning coaches aren’t equipped to help neurodiverse athletes thrive. We must change how we educate coaches to focus on neurodiversity strategies and ensure that neurodiverse athletes feel welcomed and valued. The goal isn’t to lower standards but to adapt coaching strategies so every athlete can reach their potential.

The pipeline problem affecting neurodiverse athletes is a symptom of a sports culture that hasn’t kept pace with diverse needs,and a cause of that inertia. Unfortunately, systemic barriers like rigid early sports programs, coaching styles that lack accessibility for neurodiverse athletes, organizational inflexibility, and pervasive bias create a cycle that prevents neurodiverse athletes from progressing. For many, it doesn’t stop at missed opportunities. It’s about being excluded from a place with significant social, physical, and psychological benefits.

It is possible to create an inclusive and equitable pipeline for neurodiverse athletes. However, doing so requires a fundamental shift in approach at every level of sports. By creating inclusive pathways, eliminating rigid structures, and confronting biases, we can help ensure neurodiverse athletes have a fighting chance. Enabling neurodiverse athletes to succeed benefits everyone by enhancing team experiences, improving sports culture, and creating a more inclusive athletic landscape.

Limited Early Access to Sports

Youth sports can also serve as a litmus test for future athletic success, especially for neurodiverse athletes. Unfortunately, many youth leagues are set up in ways that may unwittingly, or sometimes overtly, push neurodivergent players away. In these leagues, coaches are often volunteers without flexible communication and behavior management training. Inevitably, this leads to neurodiverse children being punished or excluded.

Some examples include:

• An athlete with ADHD may be chastised for their energy levels or lack of focus.
• An autistic child may have difficulty in loud and overstimulating environments.
• A dyslexic child may misread written instructions from a coach’s whiteboard and act on that misunderstanding.

Worse, neurodiverse children often leave sports with the impression that sports aren’t for them, and many quit altogether.

A lack of early positive experiences means neurodiverse athletes miss out on essential skills, teamwork, and confidence-building opportunities. This creates a vicious cycle: because they are often pushed aside in youth sports, these athletes receive fewer opportunities to nurture their talents and fail to progress in the athletic pipeline. This narrows the talent pool and leaves neurodiverse athletes without an avenue for improvement and competition.

Traditional coaching strategies are often based on standardized techniques and general assumptions about attention and behavior, which can inadvertently hinder neurodiverse participants. These methods frequently rely on a one-size-fits-all approach that assumes children will respond well to consistent verbal instruction, long periods of focus, and social cues. While these techniques may work for neurotypical children, neurodiverse children often process information, react to feedback, and interact with others differently. Many traditional forms of coaching don’t account for such differences, leading to frustration, disengagement, and diminished self-worth in the athlete. Instead of encouraging growth and development, these methods backfire.

Neurodiverse children often have sensory sensitivities, shorter attention spans, and specific communication patterns. Traditional coaching employs a rigid structure based on discipline and sustained focus—two areas where children with conditions like ADHD struggle the most. Their biological makeup leads to shorter attention spans and increased impulsivity. A neurotypical-minded coach might see this as “misbehavior” or “lack of effort” rather than an outcome of a child’s neurological makeup. The coach may react defensively, reprimanding or disciplining the child, which creates trust issues between the athlete and the coach. This approach may also dampen the athlete’s interest in the activity, lessening their desire to engage and damaging their self-esteem.

Some traditional coaching methods rely heavily on reading social cues and following verbal instructions, which may be ineffective for neurodiverse children, especially those who are autistic. These children may struggle to decode tone, body language, or facial expressions, leading to misunderstandings if the coach assumes they’ll understand implied instructions or subtle feedback. This can result in the neurodiverse athlete feeling lost or confused, potentially leading to anxiety or withdrawal. If the coach expects eye contact or specific body language to indicate “good listening,” the neurodiverse child may feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed, and have a negative experience.

Conventional coaching also often relies on performance goals, where peer comparisons or competition drive athletes. Neurodiverse children often struggle with competitive structures, especially if they have executive functioning difficulties that impact goal-setting or self-monitoring. Focusing on competition as the measure of success can discourage children who learn differently.

Successfully coaching neurodiverse athletes requires flexibility and personalized approaches that recognize everyone’s processing, sensory input comfort levels, and communication styles are different. Strategies like breaking instructions into smaller, manageable steps, incorporating movement breaks, using visual aids, and emphasizing individual progress rather than peer comparison can create a more inclusive, equitable environment. Embracing and accommodating these needs allows neurodiverse athletes to feel seen, heard, validated, and inspired, making organized sports a positive experience rather than one that’s continually challenging.

Structural and Organizational Barriers

Systemic issues beyond coaching styles limit neurodiverse athletes. Many sports programs, even at the school and community levels, are based on assumptions about behavior, focus, and communication that do not account for the needs of neurodiverse participants. For instance, many tryouts and performance evaluations are based on social skills, quick response time, and the ability to work well under pressure. These skills look different for neurodiverse athletes.

Very few sports organizations even have neurodiversity policies that allow for reasonable accommodations. This is especially problematic in competitive leagues where the pressure is high, and neurodiverse athletes may require individualized support. Few accommodations, such as allowing extra processing time, offering visual aids, or structuring practice sessions in different ways, are available. For neurodiverse athletes who fall outside the neurotypical template, this rigidity systemically bars them from progress.

Bias and Stereotyping

The pipeline for neurodiverse athletes is also hampered by bias. The stereotype that neurodiverse athletes are “uncoachable” or “disruptive” persists at all levels of sport, from youth leagues to elite programs. Such biases affect decisions about which athletes to support and train, and who receives competitive opportunities. Neurodiverse athletes, for instance, can be passed over in favor of players who do not have those differences but fit more traditional expectations of behavior and focus, losing opportunities to showcase their talents.

A layer of bias comes from others in the sport, including parents and teammates, who may see neurodiverse athletes as different or in need of “special treatment.” This culture of “othering” stifles inclusivity and might leave neurodiverse athletes feeling alienated within their teams. Those stereotypes, in turn, feed on themselves; the less exposure people have to neurodiverse athletes, the more their assumptions go unchallenged, locking that cycle of exclusion in place.

The Mental Health Effects of Exclusion

Exclusion from sports programs or feeling isolated from teams can have lasting psychological effects on neurodiverse athletes. Research indicates that regular exercise and participation in a team setting can significantly contribute to the well-being of neurodiverse individuals, primarily through improved social skills, higher self-esteem, and better anxiety self-management (Pan et al., 2015; Healy et al., 2018). The potential for these benefits is lost when neurodiverse athletes are systematically excluded. For many, the experience of being pushed out of sports can lead to feelings of low self-worth, isolation, and depression, with ongoing impacts on their mental health (Murphy & Carbone, 2008; Emerson et al., 2016).

Neurodiverse athletes who persevere may face hurdles that compound stress. Those who reach the next level in the pipeline often feel the need to “mask” or suppress certain behaviors to be accepted, which can be draining and detrimental to their performance and overall health. Addressing these psychological effects requires much more than just increasing participation. It demands spaces that actively affirm neurodiverse athletes and acknowledge their individual needs.

If we want to make sports accessible to neurodiverse athletes, we must remove these barriers at each level of the pipeline. This book will discuss these in detail and provide some practical steps that can help.

Practical Steps to Addressing Barriers:

• Educating Coaches and Staff on Neurodiversity: By providing education on neurodiversity and inclusive coaching methods, we can empower coaches to create supportive environments. This training should cover strategies for effective communication, behavioral accommodations, and flexibility in coaching style.
• Flexible Team Structures: Youth leagues and school programs must adapt more effectively to accommodate neurodiverse athletes. For example, leagues could offer smaller group practices or allow neurodiverse athletes to practice in quieter, less stimulating settings. Neurodiverse athletes will feel more welcome and confident as part of a team focused on inclusivity.
• Redefining Evaluation Criteria: Neurodiverse athletes can only gain equitable access by reconsidering the rigid standards typically employed by sports programs’ recruiting and evaluation processes. Instead of emphasizing attributes such as fast reflexes or versatility, we must evaluate an athlete’s entire game and potential for growth. Providing feedback about various play styles while rewarding individual adaptability over rigid measurements could unblock the pipeline of neurodiverse participation in athletics.
• Implementing Reasonable Accommodations: Sports organizations need an inclusive policy on reasonable accommodations for neurodiverse athletes. These accommodations could include additional processing time, visual supports, or any other adaptations required for their needs. Accommodations are not “special treatment”; they level the playing field.
• Awareness Campaigns Addressing Bias: Educating athletes, coaches, and sports communities about neurodiversity can be crucial to dispelling harmful myths. Through awareness campaigns, sports organizations can help challenge biases and promote a culture where neurodiverse athletes feel welcome and appreciated.