Neurotribe
Nature, on autistic terms
Neurotribe is a nature-based wellbeing programme designed specifically for autistic people. The programme draws on emerging research that highlights a deep, empathetic, and wondrous connection between autistic people and the natural world, one that is qualitatively distinct and profoundly meaningful.
Autistic people often experience the world with heightened sensory sensitivity, a deep attunement to patterns and detail, and a profound capacity for immersive focus. Emerging research points to something distinctive in how autistic people connect with the natural world, a bond that is often deeply empathetic, full of wonder, and meaningful in ways that are uniquely their own.
The programme is led by a team of experienced and skilled nature-based facilitators who hold qualifications in therapeutic nature-based practice, working under the oversight of a registered therapist. Several members of the team bring many years of experience working with neurodivergent and vulnerable groups in outdoor settings. Neurotribe is a wellbeing programme, not a clinical therapy service.
Neurotribe Ambassadors
Neurotribe is guided by our Neurotribe Ambassadors, who are all autistic themselves. The Ambassadors represent the community and direct how the programme is shaped and resourced.
The Ambassadors play a meaningful and practical leadership role in the programme. They work directly with the Connect Outdoors team to guide decision making around how the programme budget is spent, and they shape the direction of activities and events, ensuring that what is offered genuinely reflects what autistic people need, want, and will benefit from. In this way, the programme is not simply delivered to the autistic community, it is directed by it.
This model is central to the ethos of Neurotribe. Rather than a top-down approach where professionals decide what is good for autistic people, the Ambassadors ensure that lived experience, autistic identity, and self-determination are embedded in every aspect of how the programme is designed and run. Their involvement reflects a growing recognition, supported by research, that autistic people are the experts on their own lives, and that services designed with genuine autistic leadership produce better outcomes for everyone.
Neurotribe was designed around four core aims
inclusive activities
To offer inclusive, nature-based activities specifically for autistic people that support emotional regulation and overall wellbeing.
Nature connection
To explore the connection between nature and autistic wellbeing, while understanding how autistic people define and experience nature connection on their own terms.
Emotional regulation
To understand how time in natural environments supports emotional regulation and reduces the need for autistic people to mask or suppress their authentic selves.
Social prescribing
To establish a social prescribing pathway for the autistic community on the Isle of Man, connecting autistic people to non-clinical, community-based activities tailored to their sensory, communication, and interest needs.
Social Prescribing and the Autistic Community
Social prescribing connects people to non-clinical, community-based activities and support, tailored to individual sensory, communication, and interest needs. As a model, it offers a meaningful alternative to traditional clinical pathways, one that is particularly well suited to the autistic community.
The evidence base for social prescribing as a route to improving outcomes for autistic people is growing. Studies have found positive impacts of social prescribing programmes on mental health outcomes, subjective wellbeing, self-esteem, social isolation, and physical activity. For autistic people specifically, person-centred, community-based approaches such as Neurotribe offer opportunities to reconnect with community, address isolation and loneliness, and promote mental and emotional wellbeing, all areas where autistic people disproportionately experience poorer outcomes than the general population.
Neurotribe represents a pioneering step towards establishing a dedicated social prescribing pathway for the autistic community on the Isle of Man, one that is grounded in the lived experience and strengths of autistic people, and that takes seriously their deep and meaningful connection to the natural world.
Media Coverage: BBC News
Neurotribe has attracted significant local and regional interest, culminating in a major media opportunity during Autism Awareness Month in April 2026. The programme was approached by BBC News to feature in a news report, recognising Neurotribe as a noteworthy and innovative example of inclusive community provision for autistic people.
This was outstanding exposure for the programme and for the wider conversation around autistic wellbeing, nature connection, and social prescribing. It brought Neurotribe to a regional audience and demonstrated the significance of what is being achieved, not just locally, but as a model that could resonate and inspire beyond the Isle of Man.
