Because breaking barriers helps neurodiverse young people thrive in STEM

Thanks to the IET taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, invis-Ability is helping children discover engineering skills and confidence they never knew they had.

Introducing invis-Ability

invis-Ability is a disabled-led Community Interest Company (CIC) based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, that aims to make the world a more accessible place through the support of disabled people and educating the wider public. Its work includes providing educational opportunities for neurodiverse, home-educated and out-of-school young people aged 5–15, many of whom have been excluded from mainstream education. 

Focused on accessibility and empowerment, it runs a variety of programmes to encourage inclusion and socialisation, adapting these to the individual needs of the participating children. 

Sue Johnson-Searle, Director and Lead Facilitator at invis-Ability, discovered the FIRST® LEGO® League after hearing young people in her home education community talk about the LEGO® Mindstorms kits they’d used during special science lessons held at a local Airbus site. “They kept saying how much they wished they could play with that kind of equipment more often,” she explains. 

Researching educational LEGO® kits, she came across the FIRST® LEGO® League programme, and applied for one of the IET’s limited funded packages. On that occasion the application was sadly unsuccessful, but Sue was pleasantly surprised when she received a later call from the IET offering kits paid for by Big Give donations. 

invis-Ability was sent three LEGO® Education SPIKE™ kits, each made up of more than 500 LEGO® components and over 40 lesson ideas. While the organisation was too late to take part in that year’s tournament, it gave the children the chance to engage with STEM in a fun environment, and has led to improved confidence in the children and a belief that a career in STEM is something within their reach.

Learning through play, problem-solving and creativity

invis-Ability holds inclusive LEGO® workshops weekly at the Geek Retreat Stevenage. There’s no criteria to participation and no expectations from the organisers, they simply set the children challenges that they can work towards at their own pace. These are helping them learn about different engineering technology principles, from design and programming through to physics and gears. 

“Last week for example we gave them the challenge of opening a door using LEGO®. One of the youngest made a gear mechanism that worked really well, while another child made a sliding door,” says Sue. The impact of the kits has “been amazing to watch”, with Sue noting that she and her colleagues were astounded by the way some of the children have worked together on projects. 

“We have children aged five to 15 in the same group working together, all with either ADHD or autism. This includes children excluded from school due to behaviour and others who’ve never been, as well as children who have had poor school experiences and those who cannot access appropriate school placements, and they all collaborate and work as a team.

“From what those who have been to school tell us, it means so much to them because they’d never been allowed to play with these kinds of kits before. Often, because they’re expensive, teachers may gatekeep these kits because they don’t want them to get broken and not let the ‘more disruptive’ children participate,” she explains. 

Access to these kits has helped the children improve their confidence, communication, problem solving and teamwork, she notes, while also inspiring a newly-found interest in STEM.

“We recently asked them what they wanted to do when they were bigger,” says Sue. “One 10-year-old with moderate learning difficulties has decided she wants to be a film designer, artist and an engineer. A 12-year-old autistic boy wants to be a scientist or engineer, while a 13-year-old with AuADHD wants to be a game developer and has even begun looking at open days at colleges and Key Stage Four schools to find somewhere he can study this. Then there’s a five-year-old who ‘wants to work with motorbikes’, and a 15-year-old that wants to do ‘engineering-y stuff’. 

“It’s fantastic. One of these kids told their mum that he’s never felt so included and accepted with his quirks. These are kids who don’t often get the opportunity to get hands-on with these kinds of things and it’s inspiring them because they can see that they’re able to do them and that there’s a place for them within STEM.”

“It’s great to see their engineering problem-solving improve,” she continues. “These are the kinds of children that might have had meltdowns when their shoelaces come undone, but now they’re problem-solving much bigger things. It’s brilliant watching them grow.”

Small steps, big transformations

Sue goes on to highlight several powerful examples of how the kit has supported individual growth, including that of a young girl whose speech and confidence have transformed over the past year. When she first joined the group, most of the children struggled to understand her, and the team would often have to ‘interpret’ her words. Now, after months of building, problem-solving and collaborating around the LEGO® kit, she communicates clearly and is understood almost all the time – participating naturally in group discussions where she once hesitated to speak.

Another powerful example comes from two autistic boys who found social interaction extremely challenging and initially refused to engage with others. By setting up a parallel-play arrangement, with a separate space where they could mirror the group’s tasks at their own pace, the team created a safe bridge into participation. Over time, these boys moved from silent, text-only communication to approaching the table, sharing ideas and asking for support directly. Their gradual shift from isolation to active involvement has been one of the programme’s most meaningful markers of progress.

Turning STEM engagement into long-term opportunity

These small but significant steps reflect a deeper shift: the children are not only learning STEM skills, but building communication, confidence and connection in ways that extend far beyond the weekly sessions.

These young people now recognise themselves as potential engineers – seeing STEM pathways as exciting and accessible – and Sue plans to keep that momentum going. She’s making the most of the gifted kits by also holding workshops during the school holidays, as well as ‘drop-in’ coding sessions and is looking to introduce adapted Crest Awards that the children can aim for. 

Using the kit, Sue and the team plan to continue developing the children’s foundational engineering knowledge over the next year so the group can, when ready, participate in a FIRST® LEGO® League tournament. 

Together, we can broaden access to STEM

Right now, many groups like invis-Ability are applying for FIRST® LEGO® League kits, and demand continues to grow year on year. When you donate to the Big Give, you’re not just funding equipment – you’re opening doors. Every donation expands access to hands-on STEM learning and helps build a future where disabled and neurodiverse young people can see themselves as engineers.