Hi, I’m Nessa.
Nessa Hill is a founding member, and CEO of Neurodiversity Ireland, national charity supporting neurodivergent children and their families. Nessa is a practising barrister, specialising in civil litigation and public law and is late-identified AuDHD and PDA. Nessa is mother of 2 AuDHD PDA girls.
Driven by lived experience, Nessa is dedicated to dismantling the deficits-based model of children's disability services, including by leading Neurodiversity Ireland's development of Ireland's first Centre of Excellence for Neurodiversity. Set to open in early 2026, this centre will deliver neuroaffirmative children's disability supports that wrap around the child and their family, based within their local community and most importantly that are fun! This centre will provide a blueprint for such vital services to be replicated throughout Ireland.
In line with the charity's goal of breaking the societal stigma associated with being neurodivergent, Nessa hosted Ireland's first Neurodiversity Summit in 2025, attracting high profile international speakers and bringing together parents, teachers, health professionals and community allies. This event continued Neurodiversity Ireland's information sharing programme, which connects parents and carers to neurodiversity-affirming experts, against the current backdrop of chronic waiting times across Ireland, for accessing such support.
Nessa sits on the Autism Innovation Strategy Oversight Board and is an active member of the Children's Rights Alliance, with a particular interest in child protection, the justice and care systems and intersectionality of marginalisation. Nessa sits on the DPO Monitoring Group with focus upon the Inclusive Education Pillar of the National Strategy for Human Rights of Disabled Persons
Nessa is passionate about pursuing educational reform, advocating for the practical, systems-level change that is needed to bring about an education system that is inclusive of all types of learners.
Two Sides of the Spectrum Podcast: A Story from Ireland with Nessa Hill
In a complicated time when so many of us are feeling disempowered, this interview is a guiding light. Nessa Hill from Neurodiversity Ireland shares her story of how she used what she learned on the podcast to change the way Autistic kids are supported in Ireland on a national scale. Her story and her message are empowering for providers everywhere. Plus, listeners from all over the world share the creative, impactful ways they have applied what they’ve learned on the podcast to their communities and their work. This episode is heavy dose of real-life inspiration.
The Middletown Centre for Autism Podcast: Nessa Hill
In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat with Nessa Hill from Neurodiversity Ireland. We talk about the importance of practical autism-affirming supports and the positive impact that a neurodiversity-informed approach can have for everyone. Nessa chats about how seeing neurodiversity as a social justice movement informs her work.
