Uncommon

Building a service with neurodivergent young people

I co-founded Uncommon through Zinc VC, starting with a big question: how could we better support the mental health and wellbeing of neurodivergent young people?

There wasn't a ready-made answer. We spent a huge amount of time researching the problem and, most importantly, talking to neurodivergent young people about what they actually wanted and needed.

As Chief Product Officer, I led the development of the offer, turning that research into programmes we could test with young people, learning from what worked and changing what didn't.

We built live experiences where neurodivergent young people could connect with each other, learn more about what it meant to be neurodivergent, and take part in clubs and activities built around the things they were genuinely interested in.

We saw young people who had become extremely isolated begin joining sessions, talking, taking part and building relationships with other young people.

Today, Uncommon works regularly with hundreds of neurodivergent young people and has partnerships with schools and local authorities.