Haringey parent launches group aiming to help neurodivergent young women and girls

EnterTech is designed to help young people find a support network and upskill at the same time

A mother of four autistic children has launched a community group to help neurodivergent young women and girls improve their digital skills and access employment opportunities.

Haringey’s Carole McNally, who is a tech specialist and autistic herself, founded the non-profit, EnterTech, as a way to help young people find a support network and upskill at the same time.

Along with her neurodivergent co-founders, Sam Munroe-Smith who is autistic and Milly Moss who is dyslexic and dyscalculic, she hopes to offer weekly sessions specifically for neurodivergent young women and girls aged 14 to 20.

Carole said autistic girls are “often misdiagnosed leaving them feeling alone and isolated” and there is “a clear lack of representation” in the technical industries she works in.

She added: “I had to wait until my forties for my diagnosis, but I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in my twenties. Unfortunately this sort of misdiagnosis is common with girls and women and I believe if I had a support system around me that understood how I felt, I wouldn’t have spent the last thirty years feeling so unrooted.”

“EnterTech is available for teens and young women whether they have a formal diagnosis or not – we’re the safety net when local services are so often letting them down”.

During the sessions, teens will be able to take part in inclusive and accessible IT, tech and digital training such as learning to build websites, cyber security basics and learning to develop apps.

But Carole is clear that although offering educational and employment opportunities is a focus, the group offers so much more.

“We’re not just about tech training – that’s just the vehicle – we’re about nurturing amazing young minds, building self-belief and resilience and letting them know it’s ok to ‘just do you’”.

A pilot programme, which is free to attend, has proved transformational for some as co-founder and SEN specialist, Sam Munroe-Smith explained: “When they first arrive they can be very unsure of themselves, they may want to engage but are shy or reluctant. Because our approach is fully tailored to their experiences, we soon get them involved in sessions and you can see their confidence building every time.”

However, Carole says the future of EnterTech is in the hands of funders: “We know there’s appetite for this, we have parents telling us its needed, we have girls already committed to more sessions, but the funding climate can be unkind at the best of times”

The group is hoping to attract corporate sponsors in the IT, Tech and Digital industries, either local to North London or further afield, Carole adding: “There’s already high demand from families and girls outside of our area, and there’s no way we want to restrict our support geographically, our model of delivery can be scaled up and replicated across other regions – we just need that kickstart-support in place first”.

The community group, which currently works out of schools, is looking to take on its first premises in July.

To find out more about EnterTech programmes:
Email [email protected]
Visit entertech.org.uk

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