Music, chatter and the hum of food trucks echoed through the grounds on a warm, damp Sunday at Hiram House Camp in eastern Cuyahoga County. But there were no summer campers in sight. Instead, the campsite was hosting the annual Neurodiverse Culture Festival.
The festival aims to offer a safe space for neurodivergent people to enjoy themselves without judgment or overstimulation. The term "neurodivergent" refers to people whose brain differences affect how they think and behave, meaning they have different strengths and challenges from people whose brains don't have those differences. Types of neurodivergence can include autism, ADHD and dyslexia, though not all types fall into distinct diagnosis categories.
Carly Millis Jalowiec, the festival's organizer, was diagnosed with autism as an adult. The event's goal, she said, wasn’t to solve any problems or change any narratives about neurodiverse people — it was simply to provide a judgment-free venue for attendees to celebrate their interests. Festivalgoers could play games, create artwork, listen to music, unwind in a yurt or catch a drag show performance.
“We are just happy living our lives. We struggle like everybody else struggles," Millis Jalowiec said. "But you know, [we want to have] that ability to enjoy, appreciate and get into the things that make us happy.”
Gayle Lewin of Cleveland Heights saw the festival promoted on social media. Both of her children are neurodivergent, so she said she appreciated an event tailored to their interests and traits.
"Activity that is specifically targeted toward the neurodivergent community is so rare," she said. "I think it's important because it's a place where my kids can just be themselves, and they don't have to worry about being quiet, or worry about 'stimming,' or are people judging them for being who they are."
Stimming refers to self-stimulating behaviors used to self-regulate or cope with intense emotions, often in the form of repeated movements or sounds. People with autism commonly report emotional regulation as a reason for stimming, according to Cleveland Clinic.
An estimated 15-20% of the world exhibits some form of neurodivergence, according to the National Cancer Institute, but lack of education and understanding can put people who are neurodiverse at a disadvantage.
Data say the unemployment rate for neurodivergent people in the U.S. is as high as 30-40%, according to John Hopkins University. A 2020 survey reported by The Institute of Leadership & Management reported that 32% of employers said they’d be “uncomfortable” hiring someone with autism spectrum disorder.
Many of the festival’s attendees and organizers described how misconceptions around neurodiverse traits have impacted their lives.
Kate Pauline of Lakewood has autism and ADHD. She said she spent the first 30 years of her life thinking her brain was flawed because of those misconceptions.
“It was a lot of, 'You can't be ADHD because you're a girl, you can't be autistic because you're a girl and you're smart and you can talk,'" she said.
Pauline said building the neurodiverse community is important in combating stigma and confusion. It’s also a way to allow neurodiverse people to let their guard down and forget about “masking,” a strategy used by some neurodiverse people to appear more neurotypical, blend in and be more accepted in society.
“I'm in a room full of people who are autistic and ADHD and all other forms of neurodivergent, OCD, whatever you want to pull in — and I wasn't the minority," she said. "Just having that kind of space where you can feel like you're not the odd person out — that, to me is the biggest part of an event like this.”
Many people simply may not be in tune with what’s happening within their own brains, said Doug Blecher, the festival's founder. He started working with people with autism 25 years ago, but only got his own autism diagnosis recently. That helped inspire the idea for the festival.
"We're all neurodiverse. Every human is a different brain. Every person is wonderful in that way, but I think there's a lot of misunderstanding. I think it's not just about neurodivergence, but I think a big part is thinking about our other identities, thinking about intersectionality," he said.
Blecher is also the founder of Autism Personal Coach, which provides life coaching to adults and teens with autism. The organization hosts community events to help people avoid isolation, which can be a challenge for those who are neurodivergent, especially adults.
Blecher said building a community can be difficult, but he hopes leading by example compels others to explore and better understand neurodiverse culture and the needs of its population.
“There's not a lot of safety in community," he said. "I hope every festival, every restaurant, every sports venue steals our ideas to make [them] more accessible for [neurodivergent people], because to me, this is just a starting point.”
Though there are still many misunderstandings about neurodivergence, it’s become more common in conversations.
Amelia Slama, who also attended the festival, is a licensed counselor who was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD as an adult. She said support for neurodivergent people is growing, even locally.
“When I first got diagnosed I could not even find someone in Northeast Ohio to get an evaluation from," she said. "But what we're seeing now is there seems to be more resources available for adults, but it's in a phase where it's growing and building.”
