Celebrating Neurodiversity with Our Community

As #AutismAcceptanceWeek starts today, we fondly recall our inaugural community event last month as part of #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek 2024. We welcomed over fifty people to our Evening of Inspiration & Inclusion at the Mint Street Adventure Playground in Borough - London. Our objective was to celebrate neurodiverse people and share the services we are providing to support them and their supporters, as well as foster partnerships and connections with the wider community. 

Article written by volunteer Rachel Howard 

Those attending, who included parents, young people, local authorities,  organisations, schools and colleges and neurodiverse supporters, were greeted by an exhibition showcasing famous neurodiverse individuals, from Bill Gates to Keira Knightley, with each portrait accompanied by their own words on how their neurodiversity has contributed to their achievements.

The evening kicked off with a powerful introduction from our founders, Marine and Sonay, each of whom shared their personal experiences with neurodiversity and as parents of neurodiverse children. They told the story of how they came to establish The Neurodiversity Family Hub, united by the challenges they faced in their journeys and their resulting passion to improve the support available for neurodiverse young people and their families. They shared their vision of creating an organisation that challenges stereotypes, driven by the ideals of equality and justice for neurodiverse people. 

Marine and Sonay outlined the four strands of services The Neurodiversity Family Hub provides: 
-    Family Hub, which encompasses youth clubs, workshops, half term activities, advocacy and coffee mornings for parents 
-    Community Hub, involving local partnerships with organisations to align service provision to needs and raise awareness with the public  
-    Education Hub, aiming to facilitate meaningful re-integration into mainstream school by working with students, families, schools and clinicians 
-    Corporate Hub, to improve awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace with the aim of increasing the participation of neurodiverse people in the workforce – which is currently unacceptably low.  
 

We were honoured to hear from Tiago from the Youth Parliament who spoke beautifully about the integration of Autistic people in society while David, a parent, spontaneously decided to share his experiences with the room. We also heard directly from some users of the Family Hub services to demonstrate their impact. A video reel delivered further positive testimonials from young people and their families, such as two attendees of the youth club who connected by discovering a shared passion for trains. From the enthusiasm with which all of these users spoke, it was clear The Neurodiversity Family Hub’s services are meeting real needs for neurodiverse young people and their supporters across Southwark. 

Next we had the pleasure of being introduced to the organisation’s Advisory Board, Katherine Gee, Jenna Vyas-Lee and Jennifer Fearon – three impressive speakers whose belief in what we are trying to achieve shone through.  
 

-    Katherine, a policy professional working in the London Mayor’s Office, began by discussing her personal experience with neurodiversity as both a mother and a neurodiverse individual herself. She also shared about her advocacy for diversity in recruitment and empowerment of neurodiverse individuals in the workforce as she seeks to tackle the disadvantages and discrimination they may face.  
-    Jenna, a clinical psychologist who specialises in neurodiversity, shared her perspective that organisations such as The Neurodiversity Family Hub are so needed to support and drive positive change for the local neurodiverse community.  
-    And Jennifer, Head of Skills at Sheffield Hallam University, focused on the challenges neurodiverse young people often face in education and advocated for the need for a more inclusive approach.

Jennifer summed up the theme of the evening – and our organisation’s mission – in her concluding address: “Neurodivergent people offer a different view of the world and can approach problems in a way that I may not have considered. We need to embrace and celebrate differences so that we can create a more dynamic and innovative society better equipped to tackle the complexity of life we all face.”.  

Marine and Sonay have since been overwhelmed by the praise and positive feedback they have received from those who attended. Irina von Wiese, a local councillor, described the evening as “inspiring and informative”, while Emily, a parent, found it “very uplifting”. Marine said: “We were very touched by those who spoke to the audience to share their experiences, such as Tiago and David, and are so grateful for those who came to listen.”.

During the evening, we made a number of connections to create partnerships with local organisations. We are excited to pursue these and hope to deepen our offering as a result. However, we still have much to do to achieve our mission. If it resonates with you, or if you would like to learn more about our services at the Neurodiversity Family Hub, please get in touch at [email protected]