ND Connect Community Hour
Note: these are member-only events. If you're not already a member but would like to become one, apply to join us at: https://www.ndconnect.app . Members do not need to register to join.
💜 Purpose
To bring our community together to meet and connect in an authentic, low-pressure way. We’ve learned that one of the best ways to build deep social ties, community, and friendships in adulthood is just to show up consistently. So we set this space up to be a recurring third place that enables folks to connect in an accessible and supportive way.
Each week gather with people who just "get it". You can ask for advice, get a sounding board, share something fun you've learned, or just listen in.
🧱 Structure
First 15 min: breakout rooms of 3-4 people with a question of the week. Eliana posts the Q an hour before the meet in the #ndc-announcements chat each week.
Note: If you’re not up for the smaller group convo that’s okay! Join us at the 15 minute mark.
Remaining 45 min: Topic breakout rooms.
Our recurring rooms are
Career peer mentorship room – a place to share experiences, ask for advice, and give support around being ND and anything career
Just for fun chat room – a lighthearted space to connect with peers
Small group room – a place with max 4 people for purposeful side chats and folks who’d prefer conversations in a more intimate setting
Each week we also have new topic rooms that are suggested by members. Some previous rooms have included neurodivergent burnout, navigating interneurotype relationships, a fun fact share, and even a juggling room.
If you have a suggestion for a topic you’d like to chat about, let us know here: https://forms.gle/TsifEK2tnKr6Tgbc8
Accessibility & norms:
Please show up in the way that best meets your needs - we won’t judge. You're welcome to keep your camera off, participate in chat, stim, fidget, take breaks, show up with a heat pad, have a snack, leave and come back, just listen in, show up late, etc.
For breakout rooms, feel free to jump around and explore like a bee if that's your style. You don’t need to say anything before switching rooms but you’re welcome to. We don’t consider it rude for you to follow your curiosity.
All of us are neurodivergent here with different communication needs. Many of us have overlapping communication styles, and at the same time, many of us may struggle to jump into group discussions. If you want to say something but are having trouble jumping in, please use the “raise hand” feature on Zoom. We’ll all know to look out for this and invite you into the conversation.
Feel free to include pronouns next to your name so we know how to refer to you in this space.
Zoom access features like closed captioning will be enabled.
Please do your best to create a supportive space with us. All of our community guidelines apply here too. Some to highlight:
Please ask before giving advice and only speak to your own experiences and what’s worked for you
Remember, no one is acting as a trained professional in this space, everyone is only sharing from their own life experiences. You know what's best for you and are responsible for the actions you take.
Let’s all do our best to give each other the benefit of the doubt when communication breakdowns happen.
Be anti-oppressive (no: racism, ableism, queerphobia, harassment, etc.). In line with this, please do your best to avoid pathologizing certain neurotypes, experiences, or using language like “crazy”, “narcissistic”, “psycho,”, “stupid”, etc.
Honour shared vulnerability and privacy in our community spaces
We’re looking to build a real community - not a stuffy networking space. Your goal should be to form genuine relationships and connect as humans. Please do not try to sell products or services on these calls.
Let us know if there’s anything we can do to make this a more supportive or helpful space for you by emailing us at support@ndconnect.app. We genuinely care 🫶