Neurodiverse Network, Inc. was incorporated in July 2022 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The purpose of Neurodiverse Network is to provide resources & community support to individuals with brain differences or invisible disabilities and families of the south central Pennsylvania area. We hope to quickly obtain the proper funding to open a local support center, where there will be an ever-changing calendar of events that will include education, peer and caregiver support groups, a play sensory gym, social groups, and sensory tools to utilize and test. With these options, individuals and families can save time and money finding the items and life skills that help them or their children. Continued fundraising for our nonprofit organization will allow all people to access the space regardless of financial means.
Advocating for neurodiverse people
Another immediate goal of Neurodiverse Network is to bring our inclusion seminar program to local schools, pediatric and adult medical offices, daycares, etc. to share knowledge and information about sensory sensitives and the adaptations that they can make for the neurodivergent community. We will be partnering with and referring to these local organizations, businesses and individuals to make members of our community feel comfortable and safe in their choices of care.
We envision a network where neurodivergent people are able to express themselves, where they feel comfortable connecting with others, regardless of their brain style!
Facebook Groups
Get support and keep up-to-date about our social activities by joining these Facebook groups!
Meet Our Director
Hi! I’m Leann Firestone, the Creator and Director of Neurodiverse Network. I am a neurodiverse adult female living in central Pennsylvania. I am unique in that I went most of my life without a diagnosis of my brain style differences. At 30-years-old, I made the self-realization that I am autistic and that my lack of diagnosis has contributed to most of the struggles and trauma in my life. I am hoping the sharing of my story, along with constant education and advocacy, will help our community as a whole and will prevent my tale from being relived by others.
My story
At a very young age, I learned that there was something different and “not normal” with the way I thought and acted. I knew my brain was different. It was faster. It was deeper. I was smart, but then at the same time, things that could seem so simple were really hard and difficult to accomplish.
As I grew older, my stimming and tics (like humming, singing, talking, moving my feet etc.) quickly annoyed those around me. I started to hide them and forced myself to sit still to appear just like everyone else. Between my over-awareness and corrective punishment from the adults around me, I lost all of my self-stimming behaviors. I still used hidden techniques like biting my lips or tapping my fingers, but because of the verbal stims bothering others, I became almost the opposite and found it harder to speak as I grew older. I felt emotions so deeply and my senses were magnified and caused extreme discomfort. However, every time I told someone, it was just seen as picky or high maintenance. My needs were often dismissed, or I was made to feel like a burden. So, in turn, I quit advocating for myself. I stopped speaking up to make myself comfortable. I learned to bend over backwards to become a people pleaser, and I was very good at it. I made this complete person that got me through grade school, college and a career. I found a partner and developed a family, friends, etc.
Then it all eventually became too much, and I fell into a depressive state. I began a lot of deep therapy to try to remove this fake personality I had developed over the years to really find my true self again. During this journey I was able to heal to a point where I could really begin to see myself and could start trying to understand my own mental health struggles. I stumbled across late-diagnosis autism in women and all the children who were misdiagnosed in the 80s & 90s and even now. The more I educated myself, the more my life made sense. I was able to understand why I have felt so different for so many years. The more I became myself, I started stimming again, which has given me extreme self-regulation. I began to identify my emotions and soothe my sensory systems. I am properly medicated and have the best medical team around. I truly feel as though I have rediscovered my genuine self. It has been a long journey over the past 2 years, and I know there will be tough times ahead, but the amount of knowledge and self-awareness I have gained already is worth the struggle!
It took some time to work up the strength and courage to share this very vulnerable part of my life and my whole self. Along with telling my story comes a role of education, because of the misrepresentation of autism and other neurodiversities by the media. I don’t want others to have to write a story to come out of the darkness. I don’t want others to have to struggle and fight through life. I don’t only want to change the world for neurodivergent individuals, I want to change the way neurotypical/neuronormative people see us in the world.