The Society for Neurodiversity (S4Nd) is a member-led UK charity founded in 2019 to support neurodivergent people and build community around lived experience, mutual support, and collective advocacy. Born from a conversation in Calderdale identifying a need for authentic, neurodiversity-affirming support designed and led by neurodivergent people themselves, S4Nd has grown from grassroots origins into a national organisation with a growing membership across the UK.
Membership is open to anyone who identifies as neurodivergent — including autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, and Tourettic people — as well as their families, friends, and allies. Importantly, you do not need a formal diagnosis to join. Membership is free and provides access to S4Nd’s online community platform, where members can find resources, connect with peers, and participate in a range of activities.
S4Nd’s work is structured around three areas of focus. Social activities create genuinely welcoming, low-pressure environments where members connect with peers, explore shared interests, combat isolation, and build meaningful friendships. Creative programmes — including creative writing, visual arts, and other expressive activities — are developed to be inclusive and adaptable, enabling participants to explore their potential and connect with others through creative practice. Therapeutic and wellbeing initiatives provide structured support for emotional health, resilience, and self-understanding within a neurodiversity-affirming environment, including peer support groups, psychoeducational workshops, and curated resources.
The organisation is built on the principles of the Social Model of Disability, which recognises that barriers to inclusion are created by society and the environment — not by neurodiversity itself — and that meaningful change requires systemic and attitudinal shift. S4Nd is explicitly anti-exclusion and anti-discrimination, refusing to tolerate hatred, fascist or supremacist ideologies, or transphobia. The organisation honours the decades of collective self-advocacy and disability rights organising that gave rise to the neurodiversity movement, prioritising the voices of those most marginalised.
Governance is undertaken by a Board of Trustees who are collectively responsible for ensuring S4Nd serves the neurodiversity community while upholding its core mission and charitable aims. The organisation is structured as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered with the Charity Commission.
My involvement
I serve as a Trustee of S4Nd, contributing to the governance and strategic direction of the organisation. This work reflects my commitment to community, inclusion, and the principle that systems and institutions should be designed by and for the people they serve — not about them. Working with S4Nd has deepened my understanding of neurodiversity, the social model of disability, and what genuine inclusion looks like in practice.