My name is Leanne Irwin. I am a rural resident of the North Okanagan–Shuswap region, and I am writing on behalf of myself—and the many women, mothers, caregivers, and neurodivergent adults across rural British Columbia whose needs remain largely invisible within our current mental health and disability systems.
Across rural BC, women like me are raising families, caring for elders, supporting neighbours, and holding communities together while navigating neurodivergent brains in environments defined by long distances, limited services, and chronic under-resourcing. These gaps are not theoretical. They affect our safety, our health, our ability to work, and, increasingly, our ability to remain in the rural communities we call home.
For me, protecting rural BC is not a political slogan. It is practical. It means protecting the people who live here—our families, our elders, our neurodivergent adults, and our caregivers—and ensuring we are not left behind in provincial planning.
Rural Neurodivergent Adults Are Falling Through the Cracks
British Columbia’s mental health and disability systems are largely structured around age-based categories rather than lived realities. As a result, many neurodivergent adults—especially women—are unable to access appropriate assessments, treatment, or long-term support.
Women are frequently diagnosed late, misdiagnosed, or dismissed entirely. Many of us have spent decades masking symptoms, surviving without support, and carrying responsibilities far beyond what our nervous systems can reasonably sustain. When services end at adulthood or eligibility criteria fail to reflect real-world needs, people are left unsupported at the very stage of life when caregiving demands, economic pressures, and health risks increase.
Rural Communities Face Unique and Compounding Barriers
In rural regions like mine, access to care is constrained by realities that urban-centered systems often fail to account for:
- Long travel distances
- Little or no public transportation
- A shortage of specialists
- Limited crisis response
- Inconsistent follow-up care
- A lack of neurodiversity-informed services
These barriers compound for women who are caregivers, low-income, or living with disabilities. When appointments require hours of travel, when services disappear without notice, or when virtual care is unavailable or unreliable, people simply go without help.
Neurodivergent Women Need Gender-Responsive, Trauma-Informed Support
Neurodivergent women—those with ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergent profiles—often present differently than men. We experience higher rates of burnout, misdiagnosis, trauma exposure, caregiving responsibility, poverty, and housing instability. Yet these patterns are rarely reflected in policy design, eligibility criteria, or service delivery.
Life-skills programs, disability supports, and structured assistance frequently end at adulthood, despite the fact that needs do not. Rural women are left managing complex caregiving roles while navigating systems that neither recognize nor accommodate their realities.
What Rural Protection Actually Looks Like
Protecting rural BC means ensuring equitable access—not special treatment, but fair access, safety, and dignity. It looks like:
- Equitable access to health and mental health services
- Updated eligibility criteria so neurodivergent adults are not excluded
- Local and reliable virtual supports that actually exist
- Housing stability for people with disabilities and low incomes
- Transportation solutions for communities with no transit
Life-skills and disability-support programs that extend beyond childhood
Provincial policies that reflect rural realities rather than one-size-fits-all approaches
This is not about dividing British Columbia or separating from it. Some people see these long-standing failures and feel pushed toward separation. That frustration is understandable. But my focus is on making sure rural voices are heard within BC—so our communities can survive and thrive.
Standing Our Ground Means Refusing to Be Invisible
When I talk about standing our ground, I mean refusing to let rural families be invisible. It means insisting that provincial systems reflect the realities of long distances, limited services, and outdated frameworks that leave neurodivergent adults without support.
I have reached out to local officials and felt heard, which gives me hope. But this is bigger than one person. This is about every rural parent, every elder, and every neighbour who depends on community, land, and stability to survive.
I am building a local network of rural mothers and caregivers who are ready to contribute lived experience, consultation, research, and policy insight. Rural communities are strong because we show up for each other. We do not wait quietly for someone else to fix things. We protect what matters.
If these issues affect you—or if you care about the future of rural living—I am asking you to add your voice. You do not need perfect words. You do not need a long story. You just need to speak up.
I have created a petition calling for gender-responsive, neurodiversity-informed mental health support for rural British Columbians. When more of us speak, the harder we are to ignore.
Rural families are paying attention. We are organized. And we are not backing down.
Our voices matter. Our lives here matter. And together, we can make sure they are impossible to overlook.
Sincerely,
Leanne Irwin
Falkland, BC
openpetition.org/!rgprd
This article is shared on behalf of Leanne Irwin, and the views, experiences, and opinions expressed herein are solely her own. The content has been provided directly by the author and is published for awareness and public interest purposes.
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