Last June, I started a literary magazine, Oscail, to establish a platform I felt was needed for neuroqueer writers to share their writing, and receive validation and exposure for their work. There is very little queer Irish representation within literature and even less for neurodivergent writers. It is such an elite and inaccessible industry, that the identity of a writer is considered irrelevant to the writing but plays a factor in deciding whether their work will be published. This is thankfully starting to shift, but there is still a lot of work to do around accessibility in publishing.
At the start of April, I came across a post on Instagram from ShoutOut sharing news of a new resource aimed at the neuroqueer community. It struck me as deeply necessary and essential that people learned about this new resource for an identity within the queer community that has always been overlooked and misunderstood. I was delighted for Oscail to receive a mention in ShoutOut’s NeuroQueer resource, and to see the work of neuroqueer people in Ireland being empowered and promoted. After the launch of NeuroQueer, I asked Ollie Bell, ShoutOut’s Education Coordinator, some questions on their work around the resource and the importance of finding an intersectional community.
How did the NeuroQueer resource come about, and what gap did you want to fill for neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people?
The NeuroQueer resource came about from our on-the-ground work in schools. We visit secondary schools around Ireland delivering LGBTQ+ educational workshops to students. Our workshops allow students to share their thoughts and opinions, including how supportive they think their school is. Time and time again, bullying comes up as a challenge facing LGBTQ+ students but also neurodivergent students and students who are both.
There’s more education now about being LGBTQ+ and neurodiversity; more students are recognising themselves and have the words to describe their experiences. But with all this information, misconceptions still exist. Storytelling is a huge part of ShoutOut workshops and we hope to combat these misconceptions through telling our stories.
It also gives young people representation of neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people living in Ireland. While other resources on being LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent exist in the UK, the US, and other countries, there’s not many Irish-specific resources.
I know when I was a young neurodivergent queer person, I didn’t have any representation growing up, and having a resource like this would’ve made a huge difference to me.
How do neurodiversity and queerness intersect in people’s day-to-day lives, and what kinds of challenges or barriers come up most often?
They intersect in ways that are both positive and negative. Bullying continues to be an issue in Irish secondary schools, especially for neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ students. Any kind of difference is singled out and picked on. Neurodivergent LGBTQ+ students may struggle to tell a teacher about being bullied or they might not even realise they are being bullied in the first place. They also may prefer to be by themselves, but teachers or parents might push them into socialising, thinking they are helping when maybe that student finds socialising stressful or draining.
Trans healthcare in Ireland is non-existent for any trans person. But there are extra barriers when it comes to neurodivergent trans and non-binary people trying to access gender-affirming care. A diagnosis of ADHD, autism, BPD, etc. is often used to delay or deny access to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). But also in other services, neurodivergent people aren’t believed when they come out as LGBTQ+, or their sexuality/gender identity is a special interest.
On a personal level as a neurodivergent queer person, I struggled with being believed and accepted. When I came out to a mental health professional in 2015, a family member who wasn’t supportive was called in to ‘confirm’ I was trans, and they were believed over my own voice. I know I’m not the only person that this has happened to and it shows the lack of support and information out there when it comes to neurodiversity and queerness.
We’re also seeing the push for better equality and rights being spearheaded by neurodivergent and queer people.
They are being radicalised and empowered by their own lived experiences to fight for a better Ireland, for a better world. They’re also creating spaces for themselves where they don’t have to mask their neurodivergent behaviours, where their ‘weirdness’ and ‘quirks’ are not only accepted but celebrated. Neuro Pride Ireland has an area at the Pride village every year, giving neurodivergent queer people a space to just be themselves. This wasn’t a thing when I went to my first Pride in 2016; it shows how much things have progressed!
What does an inclusive community look and feel like for neuroqueer people in practical terms, both in queer spaces and wider society?
An inclusive community for neuroqueer people will be shaped by those with lived experience. Inclusion for neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people isn’t a one-size-fitsall, neurodiversity and LGBTQ+ identities are vast so not everyone’s experience will be the same. For queer spaces, that could mean having more accessible options, both in the physical sense but also in the sense that no one will look at you weirdly or judge you for being neurodivergent. Queer spaces could also be more diverse in the types of events they run. Some neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people don’t enjoy crowded places with loud music and bright lights. That doesn’t mean we should stop those kinds of events, for some neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people those events provide a space for stimming or a way of releasing energy. By having diverse queer spaces, it means those who may have different sensory needs won’t feel forced to go to those events because they’re the only option.
An inclusive society for neuroqueer people also means a society where everyone looks out for each other. It would mean not shaming neurodivergent people for having meltdowns or emotional reactions others might deem ‘extreme’, and instead looking after each other when things like that happen - allowing someone the space to regulate themselves and knowing how to support each other.
Are there particular stories or moments from creating this resource that, for you, capture what’s most powerful about it?
Storytelling has always been a big part of ShoutOut workshops, and we wanted this resource to reflect the real-life stories of neurodivergent queer people. The three stories in the resource are very different to each other, while also showing the overlapping experiences many neurodivergent queer people face. Having the language to explain and understand your own experiences is the most powerful thing.
The opening page says: “You are not broken, you are not confused, your identity is real and your voice is valued.” That’s a powerful message to send to young neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people, especially if they are struggling to come out or they’re in an unsupportive environment. It sends the message that they know themselves best and they have the power to define their own identity. It also tells those who have a neurodivergent LGBTQ+ person in their lives that they deserve to be believed and trusted, just like everyone else.
Neuroqueer people often get very little recognition or representation in the media and the attempts that have been made can be misinformed or harmful. Is there anything you’d like readers to understand about neuroqueer lives that usually gets misrepresented in media coverage?
We often see the use of neurotypes like autism and ADHD being weaponised against the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans people. Neurodivergent trans and non-binary people are often not believed or told we’ve been indoctrinated into thinking we’re trans. Neurodivergent people, in general, are infantilised, but this can be an extra challenge when it comes to neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people, as queerness is seen as something ‘adult’. The media will prioritise the voices of neurotypical people over those who are both neurodivergent and LGBTQ+.
There is a lack of resources targeted at the neuroqueer community, especially for younger members. How do you hope neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people, and those who support them, will use the resource?
We hope neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people will see themselves reflected in the resource and that it helps them feel less alone. We hope it empowers them to define their own identity without feeling like they have to shrink themselves to fit into a neurotypical, hetero/ cisnormative world. If a young neurodivergent LGBTQ+ person is struggling to put into words how they are feeling, we hope they can use this resource to talk to their friends, family and others in their lives. This resource should be the starting point for more conversations, led by neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people.
For those who support neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people, we hope this demystifies some of the information they might be hearing from the media about our lives. The resource has an ally checklist, providing concrete advice for how to support young neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people. We hope this resource is one where they don’t just read it once, but that they keep coming back to it and actively use it to make life a little easier for neurodivergent LGBTQ+ youth.
NeuroQueer: Stories by us for us was developed with the support of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality’s LGBTI+ Community Services Fund 2025. Find out more at shoutout.ie/neuroqueer. Read Oscail at oscailmagazine.com.
This article is part of GCN’s new Amach le Bród (Out with Pride) series, to combat anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and platform underrepresented voices. The project was funded by the Coimisiún na Meán News Reporting Scheme.