A support group for neurodivergent adults has launched in Cwmbran, offering a mix of in‑person and online meet‑ups to make it easier for people with busy lives, shift work or caring responsibilities to attend.
The Neuro Kind Hub, set up by Veronica Sommariva, a certified ADHD/ AuDHD coach, held its first session last autumn. It has already grown to two venues plus a regular online meet‑up, with plans for new activities including a breakfast club, craft sessions and a book club.
Veronica said she created the group to give adults a space where they can talk openly without judgement.
“It’s a support group for neurodivergent adults. I say adults specifically because I want this to be a place where a mum can come in and say, ‘My kid keeps touching me and it’s a sensory overload,’ without feeling shamed or guilty. This is how it is.”
She said the rise in diagnoses isn’t because more people are suddenly neurodivergent, but because awareness has grown.
“Before we were just classifying them as quirks or ‘you have to push harder’ and stuff so the awareness has increased, and that’s why the referrals and the diagnoses have increased.”
‘Fallen through the cracks’
Veronica said many adults – particularly those in their late 20s to 60s – have “fallen through the cracks” and are only now understanding their neurodivergence.
“There are stages like anger of what could’ve been different if I had been diagnosed before. It can be a very lonely place because you change, you start to learn more about yourself and you change the way you behave, not because you have changed, but you finally let go on all the effort to try to fit in and you just try to be yourself.
“Inevitably you’re going to lose people around you…and it can be very lonely, so that’s why I want people to come here and be themselves.”
The group is deliberately run without bookings or pressure.
“It would be easier to run it like a business, but this isn’t a business. It’s free community support. I want people to come if they feel like it, and leave if it’s too much.”
When and where they meet
- Weekday meet‑up: Hosted on one or two Fridays a month from 1pm to 3pm at Cwmbran Library.
- Weekend meet‑up: Alternates between Saturdays and Sundays at Court Farm and Oakfield Community Hall
- Online session: Held on weekday evenings. These are more workshop‑based, offering strategies and practical support.
Find out more
Links to the club’s social media pages and other info is available here.
The group welcomes a wide range of people – those unable to work, shift workers, parents, and adults with jobs who are neurodivergent and need support managing burnout.
Veronica thanked Bron Afon for helping the group’s next steps through its Pitch4Pounds community funding scheme, which supports local groups, organisations and businesses across Torfaen.