For the past year, a small neurodiverse youth group has been taking part in social activities and making connections before taking the next step to welcome more youth with neurological differences.
It started with a couple of parents approaching autism coach Gera Verheul about creating a social group for neurodivergent youth who have brains that work differently to the average or ‘neurotypical’ person.
“They’ve all got amazingly clever brains and think outside the square and come up with cool ideas,” Gera explains.
“It’s about how to make them comfortable enough to share those ideas.”
She says structured events work best for those who are neurodiverse, such as autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), rather than being put in situations where there is more social pressure.
It’s why many neurodivergent youth struggle at morning break and lunch time at school which is unstructured social time.
Gera says they often head to the school library where there are things for them to do, either with others or by themselves.
“A lot of them are really good at making friends, but not keeping them. Friendships are complicated and neurotypical tend to mask things. Whereas neurodiverse just say it.”
The idea of a Neurodiverse Youth Group is to provide an opportunity for them to meet other young people, and for the past year between six and 10 have been meeting each month for a planned event, using the Whanake Youth centre in Stoke as a base.
Going forward, the group has a wide range of activities lined up, from movies and quiz nights through to laser tag and kayaking.
“They want to know who, what, where, when. They like details.”
Gera says neurodiverse people are all different and are often unexpected and a bit quirky, which is great because everyone needs to be different.
Neurodiversity covers a wide range of people and even within one group such as autism, she says there are huge differences in how their brain works.
“If we were all the same, it would be boring and we would get nothing done.
“There’s a saying that if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” Gera says.
One of the parents who instigated the group, Melina van Wyk, says it provides a safe and inclusive space for young people to connect and build friendships. It is also helping parents and caregivers feel connected rather than isolated.
When she reached out to the community for support and funds, she says she was overwhelmed by the response from parents who shared stories of their children struggling with loneliness and isolation.
Gera’s role is to facilitate the programme and organise venues with parents.
The group is open to anyone between the age of 13 and 18 – with some leeway – regardless of their neurodiversity. As the group opens up to the wider community, it aims to raise awareness and funds and is hosting two quiz nights at the Brightwater Sprig and Fern on 14 August and 20 November.
