S4 Ep.6 COACHING Neurodiversity in Sport with Helena Russo, Caragh McMurtry and Nerys Hall

Following on from Neurodiversity Celebration Week earlier this month, this fascinating and important episode explores neurodiversity in sport. This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to develop their understanding of neurodivergence, or to start or continue a conversation with a coach or athlete about this.

Helena Russo, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at British Canoeing discusses this topic with:

• Nerys Hall, who is in her final junior year of marathon and sprint racing
• Caragh McMurtry, who is a former Olympic rower and founder of Neurodiverse Sport

Nerys and Caragh have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and high functioning autism, respectively. Together, they discuss their sporting achievements, what their diagnosis means, and how it has affected their sporting lives.

They go on to explore the barriers they have faced and the strategies they put in place to improve performance. The main part of the episode involves Caragh and Nerys giving top tips to coaches so that they consider neurodivergence and adapt their coaching practice accordingly. Importantly, they explain the need to change the narrative from neurodiverse sportspeople being a problem to one about creating a supportive and understanding environment in which neurodiverse sportspeople can perform at their best and make best use of their superpowers.

Feel free to add a comment about this episode. We'd love to know your thoughts about it.

A transcript for the episode is available here.