Editorial: Neurodiversity and the mental health and well-being of elite athletes

Hoare, E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6186-0221, Olive, LS ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4643-8561, McGinty-Minister, KL, McMurtry, C, Walton, CC ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0835-2310, Hall, K, Reardon, CL, Purcell, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7912-6073 and Berk, M (2025) Editorial: Neurodiversity and the mental health and well-being of elite athletes. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59 (16). pp. 1116-1117. ISSN 0306-3674

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Abstract

Mental health and well-being among elite athletes are accepted as central to athletic performance. Maximising health, and more recently, mental health, in elite sport is thus pivotal to the physical competencies that underpin athletic success. Neurodiversity is an umbrella term used to recognise the natural variations of all individuals, with neurodivergence often used to refer to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and other neurodevelopmental differences. Given the importance of mental health, it is surprising that the performance and personal impacts of neurodiversity in elite athletes have not been more substantially evaluated.