Neurodiverse Be the Policymakers! A Study Exploring News Text Informed Potential for Anxiety

The Australian government is challenged to address significant mental health policy issues. These problems include those of unemployment, incarceration, homelessness and suicide. It is therefore timely to consider inclusive and innovative approaches in which these issues might be better addressed. This is the first study to critically explore the potential of neurodiverse persons to co-produce a mental health policy as informed by the contemporary news reporting on the concept of high-functioning anxiety. Enabling such investigation, this research has applied the framework analysis technique to a purposive sample of nine news texts obtained from an Internet search enquiry. Exploratory findings reveal themes relating to prospective anxiety-related capabilities and constraints across the policy development dimensions of analysis, timeline management and stakeholder consultation. The study, while concluding that journalists within the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere should be encouraged to report on mental diversity in ethical, balanced and progressive ways, offers a practical guide to support this