Go WILD for neurodiversity: The Canberra idea that launched a global movement
Posted on
Like many great Canberra ideas, WILD started with a question that kept waking me up at 3 am: Why do I keep saying sorry for just being me? Why am I like this? I was always overthinking every potential misstep.
For years, before my ADHD diagnosis at 42, I masked my authentic self. I felt unlikeable, too much, so tried to emulate friends who were welcomed into rooms with smiles instead of eyerolls. Once I began to understand and lead with my neurotype truly, I started to forgive those ‘weird’ parts of me. I realised the problem wasn’t just me, it was also the rooms I was entering, with their unspoken rules and communication protocols.
Note: For any NDers wondering, when they say “bring your whole self to work,” they don’t actually mean your whole self, just the slightly expanded version that talks about your weekend and doesn’t randomly burst into song in the office!
I dedicated myself to being part of the solution. As a Branch Head in the Federal Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing, I had the opportunity to drive Neuroinclusion efforts. I saw and heard the impact it had when I talked publicly about neurodivergence.
In the last four years, through my podcast (once profiled by HerCanberra) and keynote presentations alongside powerhouses like Julia Gillard, Jacinda Ardern, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, I’ve heard thousands of heartfelt stories. A repeated theme emerged: the need for a safe space that truly welcomed their ‘whole self’ – or at least more of it. While neurodiversity awareness is accelerating, so is dangerous misinformation, leading many NDers to fear what might happen next. Taking leave from the public service, I focused on this challenge of creating broader community.
Enter collaborator and co-conspirator Jayne Gurton – strategic brain, generous heart, fellow traveller. Our early chats involved shared memes, comparing battle scars from masking and near-misses with burnout. We kept circling the same idea: instead of asking individuals to adapt endlessly, what if we redesigned the systems so more brains could breathe? Less fixing the person, more adjusting the room. Acceptance is good, but belonging is what really matters.
Inspired by PRIDE, we wanted something similar: a cultural home for NDers 365 days a year. Something alive, a bit unruly, and roomy enough for the full spectrum of neurodivergent experience. Whether you’re autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, gifted, or still figuring it out. We call it WILD.
Weird. Intense. Loud. Different.
WILD is room-redesign in motion, where the power of difference builds new paths, rather than forcing everyone onto the same one. It says creativity and complexity aren’t side quests, they’re central to how societies think, solve, and evolve.
We also wanted joy. The sturdy, grounded, Tuesday-afternoon joy that shows up when people aren’t spending their whole day self-editing. WILD’s aesthetic cues are playful because play is serious work for brains like ours. When the pressure drops, ideas roam.
My professional life taught me that you don’t force a flower to bloom, you change the soil, the light, the water. WILD is soil work. It asks, what would workplaces, schools, and social spaces look like if they assumed a diversity of brains from the start?
Canberra Goes WILD
Canberra is where WILD becomes real. On Wednesday 15 October at The Baso, Belconnen, we’re hosting an evening that brings WILD to life. We’re working hard with our accessibility coordinator to make the space as sensory-inclusive as possible, with chill-out and quiet zones, and differentiated seating. Capacity is capped to protect those elements.
The program includes inspirational speakers, live music from local acts Growing Alder, Sammy Marceddo, and Rhi Gold, and a burlesque performance from Empress Eyrie and the Tease-ables. Tickets are $25. Proceeds go to the performers, because paying people for their craft is part of the culture we’re building.
If you can’t join us at The Baso, you can still participate globally. Visit ndwild.org to Share your WILD through a story, video, image, or song that feels true to your personal blend of neurodivergence.
There’s also a coordinated activation: at 8:15 pm AEDST on the 15th, post something that shows the unapologetic authenticity of neurodivergence with hashtags #GoWILD and #NDWILD. Think of it as a nudge to the algorithm – millions of different brains, one shared signal (Instagram @ndwildglobal)
WILD isn’t only for those who identify as neurodivergent. It’s for anyone committed to building environments where difference doesn’t have to ask permission – allies, leaders, and people who do their best work when the rules are rewritten.
WILD started as a battle-notes conversation. It has become a rapidly growing, global neuroinclusive community. Whether you’re in the crowd at The Baso or posting from your lounge room, the banner’s up. Step under if it fits. That’s the soil doing its quiet work, and it’s where the good things tend to grow.
For more information, visit ndwild.org.
