The new report exposes a hidden crisis at the intersection of housing, childhood and neurodiversity
A new report has warned that neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation across the UK are being subjected to conditions described as "comparable to torture", with families reporting chronic sensory distress, instability and unsafe housing environments.
The report make a number of recommendations, including incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law.
Co-author Professor Katherine Brickell said the findings reveal a system fulfilling a basic legal duty while failing children in practice.
Temporary accommodation may fulfil a legal duty to house families, but it is repeatedly failing to meet even the most basic conditions required for neurodivergent children. For many children, these placements are overcrowded, noisy, unstable and wholly unsuitable for their sensory, emotional and developmental needs.
Professor Katherine Brickell, Department of Geography
She added that what is designed to be a short-term safety net "too often becomes a source of lasting trauma", and called for children's rights to be embedded into housing decisions so that "neurodivergent children are not treated as an afterthought".
The publication - It's like torture: Life in Temporary Accommodation for Neurodivergent Children and their Families - forms part of the Sensory Lives Project.
The report notes that there is no official data on how many neurodivergent children live in temporary accommodation, creating what it calls a "significant policy blind spot".
Based on available indicators, the authors estimate between 25,000 and 120,000 neurodivergent children in England may be affected, out of 172,420 children in temporary accommodation nationally.
Co-author Dr Rosalie Warnock said this lack of recognition has led to children being rendered invisible.
"Neurodivergent children remain largely invisible within homelessness policy," she said, stressing that their needs make them particularly vulnerable to instability, disruption and unsafe housing conditions.
She warned that "housing, health and education systems are operating in silos", leaving families to navigate complex, disconnected services alone while children face deteriorating mental health and disrupted schooling.
The call for evidence behind the report received 280 responses from parents and practitioners across the UK. On average, families reported spending 4.5 years in temporary accommodation.
Many respondents described environments that were impossible for neurodivergent children to tolerate. The report cites accounts of "unrelenting sensory assault", "psychologically excruciating" living conditions, sleep disruption and sensory deprivation.
These effects, it argues, amount to "child cruelty" when combined with repeated moves, short notice periods, and unsuitable housing far from established support networks.
The work was undertaken through the All Party Parliamentary Group for Households in Temporary Accommodation, with support from the Shared Health Foundation, Justlife and Autistica.
Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP, Chair of the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation, said: "We should all be appalled that children are being forced to endure conditions that are comparable to torture. These conditions are not only degrading and inhumane, but risk inflicting lifelong harm on children's physical and mental health."
While welcoming steps set out in the Government's National Plan to Ending Homelessness, she said "significant gaps remain", particularly in ensuring that neurodivergent children are explicitly recognised and protected.
Sector leaders echoed concerns about systemic failure. Dr Laura Neilson, CEO of the Shared Health Foundation, said the conditions outlined in the report "are the predictable outcome of decades of political choices made by successive governments - choices that have prioritised short-term fixes over long-term solutions".
Simon Gale, CEO of Justlife, described the findings as "a shocking and damning indictment of a housing system that has failed so many children and their families", and urged Government to adopt the report's recommendations.
Dr Amanda Roestorf, Director of Research at Autistica, said unsuitable temporary accommodation has "wide-ranging, predictable impacts that undermine neurodivergent children's health, wellbeing and education". She added that practical, affordable solutions exist, such as reducing sensory overload and ensuring continuity of education, health and care.
The report sets out a series of recommendations for local and national government, including: incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law; improving data collection to record EHCP and SEN status; and ensuring continuity of essential services when families move.
It also suggests mandatory neurodiversity training for housing officers; improved housing standards and neuroinclusive design; ending the use of hotels and B&Bs for families; and piloting a Sensory Needs Fund to provide targeted financial support.
Read the report: It's like torture: Life in Temporary Accommodation for Neurodivergent Children and their Families
