Let’s have a straight-talking moment, shall we?
Neuroinclusion isn’t a checklist or toolkit.
It’s not a pastel-coloured chill-out zone in the corner.
It’s not a last-minute social media post during Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
It’s not plonking a fidget basket on a table and thinking job done.
That’s performative. That’s veneer. That’s “let’s look inclusive” without being inclusive.
And we’re not buying it anymore.
As a neurodivergent person — someone who lives this, not just works in it — I can tell you this: we can feel when something is a tick-box exercise. It’s not just that we notice — we sense it. In our bones. In our nervous systems. And guess what? It feels unsafe. It feels patronising. It feels like you want our attendance, but not our full presence.
Neuroinclusion Needs to Be in Your DNA
If you want your event, your organisation, your brand to be neuroinclusive — it has to be right at the core of how you operate. It needs to bleed through everything you do. From the boardroom to the bathroom signs. From speaker line-ups to how your team communicates internally.
Neuroinclusion isn’t a coat of paint. It’s a foundation. It’s culture. It’s lived values. It’s your organisational DNA.
And most critically? It requires strategic leadership buy-in.
If your leadership isn’t on board, neuroinclusion becomes a sticky plaster on a gaping wound. You need champions in the C-suite, not just cheerleaders in comms. If the decision-makers aren’t living and breathing neuroaffirming values — if they’re not asking, “how does this impact our neurodivergent team members, partners, and attendees?” — then you’re just spinning your wheels.
Neuroaffirming, or Neuroperforming?
There’s a big difference between being neuroaware and being neuroaffirming.
Being neuroaffirming means your spaces are built with psychological safety in mind. Your staff are trained not just to know about sensory overload, but how to respond to someone in shutdown. It means your accessibility isn’t hidden in a 50-page PDF or a “click here to request support” form. It’s visible. It’s offered up front. It’s felt.
Neurodivergent people aren’t asking for “special” treatment. We’re asking for genuine inclusion — and that takes commitment. Investment. Reflection. Adaptation.
And you know what? If you’re doing it right, you won’t just be neuroinclusive. You’ll be better — full stop. Better organised. Better attended. Better experienced. Because good event and work design for neurodivergent folks is good design for everyone.
So What Needs to Change?
- Get neuroinclusion out of the “nice-to-have” pile and into your strategy documents, training budgets, and leadership KPIs.
- Hire neurodivergent people — not just to speak, but to lead. Give us the pen, not just the mic.
- Don’t just work off a checklist – properly audit your events and spaces for sensory accessibility, communication clarity, and emotional safety — and act on the results.
- Stop asking us to work for free, or “raise awareness” for exposure, while you profit from our trauma.
- Partner with organisations who live and breathe this work — not ones who started mimicking it because it’s trending.
Here’s the Real Talk
We’re not asking you to be perfect. We’re asking you to be honest. To show us that you care enough to try, to learn, to listen, to do better.
Because real neuroinclusion isn’t just something you do… it’s something you are…
…and we can tell the difference.
Author: Helen Moon
Helen Moon is the neurodivergent powerhouse behind EventWell – the award-winning not-for-profit championing neuroinclusion and mental wellbeing in the events industry. With nearly 30 years’ experience across hotels, venues, suppliers, and freelance operations, Helen knows events inside out. Diagnosed with AuDHD and Dyslexia, she founded EventWell in 2017 to make wellbeing and inclusion the norm, not the nice-to-have. A qualified stress management and relaxation therapist with diplomas in psychology, neurodiversity and safeguarding, she blends lived experience with professional clout to drive meaningful change. Helen is also Chair of the Event Industry Alliance DEI Working Group and a respected voice in event accessibility – an advocate, educator, and disruptor on a mission to rewire the way the industry thinks about inclusion.
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