Neurodivergent anxiety is not only “too much worry” but a mix of sensory overload, uncertainty, rapid thinking, threat‑focused attention and difficult emotional recovery. It often appears differently in autistic, ADHD and AuDHD people than in standard anxiety descriptions. This Neurodivergent Anxiety Learning Hub gathers articles, research, therapy options, self‑care strategies and support resources focused on ND anxiety
🧭 Neurodivergent Anxiety Basics Course
Your starting point to understand the core concepts, common symptoms, and everyday patterns of anxiety in a structured, easy-to-follow way. This course is free.
Neurodivergent Anxiety Articles
🌪️ Neurodivergent Anxiety: How Anxiety Works in ADHD, Autism and AuDHD
Explains why anxiety is different in ND brains, including sensory-based fear, cognitive loops and emotional escalation.
🧠 Why Social Anxiety Feels So Intense
Breaks down threat perception, self-monitoring and neurological sensitivity during social interaction.
🔄 Understanding the Anxiety Cycle: Why Worry Feeds on Itself
Explains how ND brains get stuck in worry loops and how fear reinforces itself.
🧭 Choosing Therapy Options for Anxiety
Overview of therapy styles that work best for ND anxiety, from CBT to somatic approaches.
🔬 Anxiety Research in 2025: What Scientists Are Discovering
A summary of recent scientific findings on anxiety, sensory systems and ND-related anxiety patterns.
Anxiety Organizations
🧠 NIMH – Anxiety Disorders
Trusted evidence-based information on anxiety, panic, social anxiety, and how these conditions interact with neurodevelopmental differences.
🌍 Autistic Self Advocacy Network – Mental Health Resources
Guides created by autistic people addressing anxiety, overwhelm, accessibility barriers, and self-advocacy in daily life.
📘 Autism Research Institute – Anxiety in Autism
Research summaries and webinars explaining sensory-driven anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and autistic stress responses.
🔬 CHADD – ADHD & Anxiety
Evidence-based articles on ADHD–anxiety comorbidity, emotional intensity, executive overload, and treatment guidance.
📗 ADHD Evidence Project – Comorbid Anxiety
High-quality research reviews on ADHD–anxiety overlap, brain mechanisms, and intervention outcomes.
🇬🇧 National Autistic Society – Autism & Anxiety
Clear guidance on identifying anxiety in autistic adults, triggers, sensory contributions, and practical support strategies.
💼 NICE Guidelines – Anxiety Disorders
Clinical guidance relevant to diagnosing and supporting anxiety in adults, including those with ADHD and autism
🏥 Mayo Clinic – Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Scientific explanations of anxiety presentations, physical symptoms, and treatment options relevant to neurodivergent adults.
🌱 Stanford Neurodiversity Project – Stress & Anxiety
Research focusing on neurodivergent stress responses, cognitive load, social anxiety, and workplace adjustments.
📰 Spectrum News – Autism & Anxiety Research
Independent science journalism covering autistic anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, sensory-driven fear responses, and lived experience.
📚 Neurodivergent Anxiety Research Reference Library
Scientific studies on anxiety in ADHD, autism and AuDHD
🧬 Prevalence and Comorbidity of Anxiety in Neurodivergent People
Zaboski, B. A., & Storch, E. A. (2018).
Comorbid autism spectrum disorder and anxiety disorders: A brief review
Review showing around 40 percent of autistic children meet criteria for an anxiety disorder and highlighting the clinical challenges this creates.
Thiele‑Swift, H. N., et al. (2024).
Anxiety Prevalence in Youth with Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis
Meta‑analysis indicating roughly one in three autistic youth have clinically elevated anxiety, and one in five meet criteria for a formal anxiety disorder.
Leachman, C., et al. (2024).
Anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Risk factors and associated features
Examines which traits and family or emotional factors are linked to higher anxiety levels in autistic youth.
Sciberras, E., et al. (2014).
Anxiety in Children With Attention‑Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Finds that up to half of children with ADHD also have an anxiety disorder and explores how this affects functioning and treatment.
Gümüş, Y. Y., et al. (2015).
Anxiety Disorders Comorbidity in Children and Adolescents with ADHD
Reports high rates of anxiety comorbidity in clinical ADHD samples and emphasises the need to screen for anxiety symptoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).
Data and Statistics on ADHD
National US survey data showing that about 4 in 10 children with ADHD also have an anxiety diagnosis.
🧠 Intolerance of Uncertainty, Restricted Patterns and Anxiety
Jenkinson, R., et al. (2020).
The relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety in autistic adults
Shows that intolerance of uncertainty strongly mediates the link between autistic traits and anxiety symptoms in adults.
Vasa, R. A., et al. (2018).
Relationships between autism spectrum disorder, anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty
Demonstrates that higher intolerance of uncertainty is related to both greater anxiety and more emotion dysregulation in autistic youth.
Goodwin, C. D., et al. (2019).
Uncertainty Processing in Autism
Overview chapter linking intolerance of uncertainty, insistence on sameness and anxiety in autism.
Normansell‑Mossa, K. M., et al. (2021).
Sensory Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty in Autistic Adults
Suggests that sensory sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty together help explain high anxiety rates in autistic adults.
Shi, H., et al. (2024).
Autistic traits linked to anxiety and dichotomous thinking
Finds that intolerance of uncertainty and black‑and‑white thinking partly mediate the relationship between autistic traits and anxiety. Nature+1
Brosnan, M., et al. (2025).
Intolerance of Uncertainty Mediates the Relationship Between Autistic Traits and Anxiety
Brief report confirming that intolerance of uncertainty is a key pathway from autistic traits to anxiety in youth.
🎧 Sensory Over‑Responsivity, Arousal and Anxiety
Carpenter, K. L. H., et al. (2019).
Sensory Over‑Responsivity: An Early Risk Factor for Anxiety and ADHD
Longitudinal study suggesting that early sensory over‑responsivity predicts later anxiety symptoms.
Lane, S. J., Reynolds, S., & Dumenci, L. (2012).
Sensory Overresponsivity and Anxiety in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism and ADHD
Shows strong links between sensory over‑responsivity and anxiety across autistic, ADHD and non‑clinical children.
Huang, Z., et al. (2024).
Relationships between Sensory Processing and Executive Functions in Children with Combined ASD and ADHD
Finds heightened sensory over‑responsivity and more severe emotional and self‑evaluative difficulties in ASD+ADHD, which relate to anxiety.
American Psychiatric Association (2021).
Autism, Anxiety and Sensory Challenges
Clinical overview summarising data that many autistic children with anxiety also have significant sensory over‑responsivity.
🌊 Emotion Regulation, Executive Function and Anxiety
Conner, C. M., et al. (2023).
Emotion Regulation and Executive Function: Associations With Anxiety and Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Shows that poorer emotion regulation is strongly associated with higher anxiety and depression in autistic youth, even after accounting for autism traits.
Restoy, D., et al. (2024).
Emotion regulation and emotion dysregulation in children with autism spectrum disorder
Meta‑analytic review showing that autistic children have higher emotion dysregulation, which is closely tied to anxiety and behaviour problems.
Cai, R. Y., et al. (2024).
Emotion regulation in neurodevelopmental disorders
Editorial summarising recent work on emotion regulation across autism and ADHD and highlighting anxiety as a key transdiagnostic outcome.
Pavlopoulou, G., et al. (2025).
Situating emotion regulation in autism and ADHD through young people’s lived experience
Qualitative study of autistic, ADHD and AuDHD adolescents describing what triggers “upset” and what helps them regulate emotions and anxiety.
🧭 Clinical Complexity, Risk Factors and Treatment
Dellapiazza, F., et al. (2022).
Early risk factors for anxiety disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder
Identifies early sensory over‑responsivity, insistence on sameness and emotional problems as risk factors for later anxiety in autistic children.
Menezes, M., et al. (2022).
Treatment of anxiety in autistic adults: A systematic review
Systematic review of psychological and pharmacological treatments for anxiety in autistic adults, highlighting evidence gaps and adaptations needed.
Friesen, K., et al. (2021).
The Diagnosis and Management of Anxiety in Adolescents With ADHD
Clinical review on recognising and treating anxiety in adolescents with ADHD, including medication and psychotherapy considerations.
Murray, A. L., et al. (2025).
A Narrative Review to Identify Promising Approaches for Digital Emotion Regulation Interventions for Adolescents With ADHD
Reviews digital tools for emotion regulation in adolescents with ADHD, many of which target anxiety and stress responses.