Neurodivergence in the Family Courts Series: Parenting Capacity Through a Neurodivergent Lens

Parenting capacity is often assessed against implicit neurotypical expectations, which can obscure both strengths and vulnerabilities when parents are neurodivergent. This article explores how careful psychological formulation supports more accurate, child-centred understanding of parenting capacity in family court contexts.

In family court proceedings, assessments of parenting capacity play a central role in decisions about children’s safety, care and long-term wellbeing. These assessments are necessarily complex, requiring professionals to consider not only what parents do, but how children experience their care over time.

Neurodevelopmental Differences and Parenting

When parents are neurodivergent, there may be differences in their experience of and approach to parenting. This may not be because neurodivergence automatically limits parenting capacity, but because parenting is often implicitly judged against neurotypical expectations. These expectations are rarely stated explicitly, yet they shape how communication, emotional expression, flexibility and engagement are interpreted.

Neurodivergent parents may parent differently without parenting poorly. Differences in affect, communication style, routine or emotional expression do not, in themselves, indicate reduced capacity to meet a child’s needs. Many neurodivergent parents provide thoughtful, consistent and attentive care, often within structured and predictable environments that support children’s development.

At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that neurodevelopmental differences can, in some circumstances, intersect with parenting in ways that matter. Parenting places sustained demands on executive functioning, emotional regulation, sensory tolerance and adaptability, particularly under stress. For some parents, aspects of autism or ADHD may influence how these demands are managed, especially in the context of trauma, mental health difficulties or limited support.

The Child's Perspective

From a child protection perspective, the question is never simply whether a parent is autistic or has ADHD. Rather, it is how a child experiences their parent’s care. Parenting capacity must be understood in relation to the child’s developmental needs, including emotional availability, responsiveness, guidance, boundaries, consistency and predictability. These are central to attachment, emotional regulation and a child’s developing sense of safety.

Crucially, parenting capacity does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by context. Factors such as reasonable adjustments, external support, stressors, trauma histories and the child’s own temperament and needs all influence how parenting is expressed and experienced. Without attention to these contextual factors, there is a real risk that capacity is either over- or under-estimated.

How Careful Neurodevelopmental and Psychological Assessment Can Help

This is where careful psychological formulation becomes essential. A neurodivergence-informed assessment moves beyond surface observation to ask more meaningful questions: What are this parent’s strengths? Where are the pressures and vulnerabilities? Which aspects of parenting are working well, and which may need support? What adaptations or interventions would genuinely strengthen the parent’s capacity and reduce risk to the child?

Parenting Capacity Varies Over Time and Contexts

Importantly, parenting capacity is not a fixed trait. It is dynamic and responsive to understanding, support and context. Assessments that recognise this are better placed to support proportionate, child-centred recommendations; ones that distinguish difference from difficulty, and difficulty from risk, without relying on assumption or oversimplification.

When parenting capacity is understood through a neurodivergent lens, the focus remains firmly on the child’s needs, while ensuring that conclusions are grounded in psychological understanding rather than implicit norms. This approach supports clearer safeguarding decisions and more effective pathways for support, ultimately serving children’s wellbeing more reliably than rigid or unexamined frameworks.