More than 25 organisations will come together in Tauranga this weekend to connect neurodivergent families with support.

The event comes as a local charity enters a new chapter, with its annual festival growing and a new chairperson joining its board.

Spectrum Connections Charitable Trust is preparing for NeuroFest 2026, a free, sensory-friendly event bringing local organisations and services together with neurodivergent families and rangatahi.

The festival will be held at Merivale Community Centre on Saturday, September 5, with two 90-minute sessions, a media release said.

Operations manager and co-founder Rachel Crump said the event had grown beyond what organisers initially planned.

“We thought, let’s do a smaller event, invite a couple of services and some local families.”

“It ended up growing into something a bit bigger, so we just rolled with it.”

NeuroFest is designed to give families an opportunity to meet support organisations and professionals, ask questions and find out what services are available.

To help keep the event sensory-friendly, each session has been capped at 110 people.

The afternoon session is already full, while a limited number of free tickets remain for the morning session.

Spectrum Connections Charitable Trust co-founders Mary Jane Du Toit and Rachel Crump.

Spectrum Connections works with families raising children with autism and ADHD, providing peer support, sensory-friendly events, workshops, webinars, respite opportunities and help navigating support services.

Crump said some families struggled to access the support they needed.

“There are significant challenges in life, and it’s more often than not that this area of the disability community can sometimes fall through the cracks.”

The organisation was founded by Crump and general manager Mary-Jane Du Toit, both of whom have children with autism and ADHD.

Spectrum Connections began as a grassroots support initiative and has since expanded its range of services and community programmes.

Crump said their own experiences had shaped the organisation’s understanding of the challenges families could face, including when children’s needs were not recognised or adequately supported at school.

The trust was recognised at this year’s Western Bay Community Awards, receiving the Diversity and Inclusion Award.

It has also appointed Dr Adam Harrison as its new chairperson.

Harrison is a Tauranga-based doctor, lawyer, leadership coach and wellbeing advocate, and is the founder of Good Man Wellness.

Crump said his experience across health, leadership and wellbeing would be valuable as the organisation continued to grow.