Backfilling and Frontloading

Why the Timing of Support Matters for Neurodivergent Folk

When I worked in University Student Support we often talked about the benefit of frontloading support for new students coming in to help with the transition and get them off to a good start. In practice this might mean having more hours of ‘non-medical-helper’ support in the form of mentoring or note taking hours. (In the old days we could even get funding for support workers to help students find their way around campus.) We also used to run an early enrolment event so students could get moved into accommodation, complete the enrolment admin and meet their support workers a few days before everyone else arrived when it was quieter. Not all students needed or wanted these types of support, but for some it made a huge difference to their University experience.

It’s something I’ve been thinking of a lot recently (possibly because I was delivering a session for UMHAN, my old professional body). It had got me considering the difference between the students who we were able to frontload support for as opposed to the ones who we didn’t know about until things had already started to go wrong. There are so many things that could end up with a student sat in my office trying to figure out what we could do to get them back on track with their studies, but often we had to start by backfilling the support to make up for what hadn’t been there in the beginning. We were starting from a deficit, often with students who were already experiencing significant distress and difficulties.

As I was preparing to deliver the lunch and learn session for UMHAN I started thinking about how these ideas of frontloading and backfilling related to the Two Spirals Model (you can read more about it here). I realised it was already implicit in the way that I work with the model because individual context is such a key part of it, but I wanted to make it more explicit to support other practitioners to use it in their practice. So, of course, I decided to redesign the whole Two Spirals Masterclass ready for our new January date (more details below) and used the concepts of backfilling and frontloading to structure the second half where we explore integrating the model into practice (whether that’s as therapists, mentors, coaches or any other professional who supports neurodivergent wellbeing).

When to Backfill and Frontload

As always, for me, the starting place is knowledge and specifically contextual knowledge.

• What is going on for them right now?

• What resources do they currently have?

• Is there anything that needs addressing urgently?

• What is the balance of their two spirals?

The answers to these questions should help us to figure out whether we are backfilling or frontloading and therefore where (and how) to put support in place.

When to Prioritise Backfilling

• Things are already going wrong

• The Downward Spiral is dominant

• Capacity is low

• In burnout (or starting to get crispy)

• Struggling with basic needs

When to Prioritise Frontloading

• The Upward Spiral has momentum

• There is spare capacity

• Basic needs are being met more often than not

• Managing day to day tasks even if there is low mood

• Able to hold the possibility that things might be different

What does it look like in practice?

What each of these processes looks like will vary from client to client depending on their individual context and needs, but here are some guiding principles that I find useful.

Backfilling

It’s all about slowing the momentum of the downward spiral and regulating enough to figure out what is most important right now (often not what we initially think)

• Put down or pause as much as possible

• Attend to basic needs

• Regulate

Frontloading

It’s all about maintaining capacity and beginning to curate a life that moves you towards balance and sustainability.

• Creating structure and routines to support your future self

• Challenging and unlearning unhelpful internalised beliefs that perpetuate blame and shame

• Taking the time to really get to know your needs and how best to meet them

This way of thinking about supporting my clients has been percolating for a while; I first tried to write this blog back in June, but it let me know it wasn’t quite ready yet. Apparently rewriting my big training was the answer I was looking for and I can’t wait to share the new version in January. If you’d like to join us, then earlybird tickets are currently available until the end of November and you can find full details below.

Friday 29th January 2027, 9.30am-3pm GMT, Online

Join Zena Nicholas and me for a day of learning, reflection and conversation as we explore the Two Spirals Model of Neurodivergent Wellbeing and how it can provide a practical framework you can integrate into your practice supporting neurodivergent clients. Open to therapists, psychologists, coaches, mentors, educational support staff and anyone else who supports neurodivergent wellbeing.

By the end of the day you will:

• Be familiar with the Two Spirals Model and how it can be integrated into your practice

• Understand the importance of context to supporting neurodivergent folk

• Understand the role that the internalisation of societal neuro-normativity (alongside other forms of systemic oppression) can play in the wellbeing of neurodivergent clients

• Understand the difference between backfilling and frontloading support, and when and how to use each

  
  

Throughout the day, there will be opportunities to share ideas, ask questions and reflect on how the model might fit with the work you’re already doing.

Investment: £155 earlybird tickets available until 30th November, then £175

Buy Tickets Here

If your a practitioner, sign up to my newsletter to be amongst the first to hear about by training and other ways to work with me. You’ll also receive exclusive discount codes a copy of my guide to key terms in neurodivergence