Why Venues Need to Stop Developing NeuroInclusion Toolkits for the Event Industry

Neuroinclusion in events is not just a trend, it’s a necessity.

With research showing that 85% of neurodivergent attendees have avoided events due to fear of overwhelm and that 88% feel event organisers don’t understand their needs, it’s clear that real change is needed.

However, a worrying pattern is emerging. Venues across the industry are rushing to create their own ‘NeuroInclusion Toolkits’, pushing themselves as leaders in this space, but this approach is deeply flawed.

While well-intentioned, it risks doing more harm than good. Here’s why venues need to stop developing these toolkits and instead support the neurodivergent-led organisations already doing the work.

1. Venues Are Not the Best Organisations to Lead on NeuroInclusion

Venues play a crucial role in making events more inclusive, but they do not have the expertise, lived experience, or deep understanding needed to create meaningful neuroinclusion strategies.

A toolkit created by a venue is often written from an operational perspective rather than centreing the real needs of neurodivergent attendees. It can result in generic, surface-level advice rather than the nuanced, flexible approaches required for true accessibility in events.

2. This Can Be Seen as Box-Ticking and Vanity Marketing

Many venues developing neuroinclusion toolkits are doing so to be seen as “doing something” rather than driving genuine change. A well-designed PDF or a polished webpage may look good in marketing materials, but if the strategies within it are not actively implemented, tested, and evolved in collaboration with the neurodivergent community, then it becomes just another box-ticking exercise.

True neuroinclusion isn’t about a one-off document, it’s about ongoing commitment, education, and investment in actual changes to event design, staff training, and venue accessibility.

3. NeuroInclusion Initiatives Must Be Led by the Neurodivergent Community

One of the biggest problems with venue-led toolkits is that they often are secondary voices exclude the first hand neurodivergent voices from the conversation.

Neuroinclusion must be guided and led by those with lived experience, just as other accessibility and inclusion initiatives are led by the communities they impact.

Neurodivergent-led organisations like EventWell, and other specialists in the space have been working on this for years. Instead of venues creating their own fragmented toolkits, they should be partnering with and funding these existing experts to develop and implement meaningful solutions.

4. The Industry Risks Being Flooded with Toolkits Instead of Action

If every venue starts developing its own neuroinclusion toolkit, we will end up with an overwhelming flood of slightly different, competing documents, each one trying to outdo the last, or be the one that will be the industry leading guidance. This will only lead to more confusion rather than clarity.

Instead of wasting time and resources on duplicated efforts, venues should focus on:

• Supporting existing neurodivergent-led frameworks and initiatives
• Implementing real-world changes such as properly equipped quiet rooms, trained event staff, and sensory-friendly spaces
• Funding expert organisations to conduct venue audits, training, and consultancy

The Way Forward: Collaboration, Not Competition

Neuroinclusion should not be a marketing exercise or a competitive checkbox for event venues, it should be an industry-wide commitment led by the people who understand it best.

Rather than creating another toolkit, venues should ask:
✔️ How can we actively support neurodivergent-led initiatives?
✔️ Are we investing in meaningful changes, or just adding to the noise?
✔️ Who are we really serving, neurodivergent attendees or our own PR goals?

It’s time for the event industry to shift from toolkit culture to tangible action.

Venues don’t need to write the next neuroinclusion guide, they need to listen, collaborate, and implement real change.