About us

I became a campaigner for neurodiversity, especially ADHD, in 2021.  This followed the death by suicide of our adult ADHD son Ben Brimley in December 2020.  Since Ben died I have sponsored several activities here: Stroud Neurodiversity Project in 2021, Gloucestershire Neurodiversity Project in 2022 (part sponsored) and teacher training in Gloucestershire secondary schools in 2023.  These were teacher and parent training projects delivered by ADHD Foundation.    

I have also sponsored research into the link between suicide and ADHD at Glasgow University, led by Rory O’Connor.  This work had 3 phases the results of which are: 

Phase 1 Literature Review.
Read here. 

Phase 2: Quantitative Survey 
Read the survey here. 

Phase 3: Interviews
View interviews here. 

Dr Susan Young led a Consensus Statement on how best to help people with ADHD and Substance Misuse which I also sponsored.  This produced valuable advice for both ADHD practitioners and substance misuse practitioners.  We made a video showcasing key results and telling 4 brave people’s stories of their life journeys, which you can view below.  

2024 saw the inception of the Gloucestershire Youth Neurodiversity Project with ADHD Foundation delivering a launch event in April followed by neurodiversity webinars and youth worker training. 

Ben was late-diagnosed at 17 and suffered a lot of misunderstanding and emotional pain in life as he grew up.  The aim of Gloucestershire Youth Neurodiversity Project is to make Gloucestershire the best place in the country to grow up neurodiverse.

Lead Delivery Partner 

We are currently running an award to select a lead delivery partner in Gloucestershire.  Please contact Gloucestershire Community Foundation if you want to find out about this by emailing Sarah Sharma at grantsmanager@gloucestershirecf.org.uk or apply online here.