In recent decades, diagnoses like autism and ADHD have gained social prominence in the UK, fuelling rising demand for assessments. As more people are diagnosed and scientific views evolve, these labels have broadened to encompass a wider range of experiences. However, this expansion makes their meaning more diffuse since people with the same diagnosis can have vastly different needs and perspectives.

The significance of diagnosis also depends on context. For individuals, it can shape identity and self-understanding; for institutions, it often determines access to support. Many services rely on binary “yes/no” assessments, yet struggle to meet demand. In response, some UK services are rethinking diagnosis, shifting toward flexible, needs-based models that better reflect individual complexity.

This moment of change offers a chance to reimagine how we understand and respond to neurodevelopmental difference. The Beyond Binaries project investigates how the meanings and uses of diagnoses are evolving, and what this means for individuals, services, and society. It will trace how these shifts unfold, why they take the form they do, and their broader implications. By understanding these shifts we can better navigate the challenges and opportunities they bring.

The project has the following aims:

1. Explores how service planners, providers, and users understand neurodevelopmental diagnoses, how these understandings are changing and why.

2. Examines how these understandings influence service redesign, and what this means for care and identity.

3. Investigating the consequences of these shifts for service users and providers, and for society more generally.

4. Explores alternatives to dichotomous (either/or) understandings of diagnosis such as dimensional profiling.