A Community Named Neurocats
GitHub’s support for neurodivergent employees is built around Neurocats, an internal Community of Belonging (CoB) that started as a private Slack channel called #neuroconverse. It formally became a CoB in October 2021 after members worked with GitHub’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging team, and has since grown to hundreds of employees across the company.
The group provides a safe space for employees to discuss their neurodivergence—covering conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological variations—and to share advice and experiences.
Member testimonials illustrate the impact. Lou Nelson, support engineer III, says Neurocats helped reframe their understanding of an ADHD diagnosis. Tina Barfield, senior manager, describes the community as one that “embraces and normalizes our uniqueness.”
Spaces That Enable Openness
The community's private nature is central to how it works. Members can have candid conversations about challenges and successes without concerns about visibility. For some, this represents the first time they've seen neurodivergent colleagues succeed and be recognized at work.
Julie Kang, staff manager of software engineering, notes the difference from earlier roles: “When I joined GitHub, and especially when I became a Neurocat, I was pleasantly surprised to find a culture that was knowledgeable, accepting, and celebratory of neurodiversity.”
Accommodations and Flexibility
Day-to-day support for neurodivergent employees goes beyond community membership. GitHub encourages flexible arrangements such as adjusted working hours, remote options, noise-canceling headphones, and customized workspaces aimed at reducing sensory overload. Where accommodations are needed, employees are pointed toward the company’s formal process, recognizing that requesting support can be difficult.
Having visible, successful neurodivergent employees across departments helps normalize these kinds of needs. Caite Palmer, manual review analyst in security operations, points out that many colleagues spent years being told to “apply yourself” before finding a workplace where flexibility and problem solving are treated as assets.
Monthly Forums Drive Change
Neurocats holds monthly meetings covering topics like ADHD, autism, anxiety, and mental health. These aren't just discussion sessions—the group’s leadership uses them as a channel to identify and lobby for company-level changes. Owen Niblock, senior software engineer working on accessibility, says the group has “had some success” securing changes that benefit all of GitHub, not just neurodivergent employees.
Recognition From Leadership
Celebration of neurodiversity comes from both the peer community and official channels. The company observes Disability Pride Month, and the People Team shares mental health benefits information during Mental Health Month each May. These efforts, combined with the visibility of groups like Neurocats during meetings and training sessions, reinforce that neurodivergent strengths are valued rather than merely accommodated.
The business case for this approach is documented externally: according to research cited in the Neurocats discussion, teams with neurodivergent members can be up to 30 percent more productive, owing to strengths in pattern recognition and unconventional problem solving.
The community’s longer-term aim is that members carry the experience forward. As Kang puts it, “I feel equipped to pay this forward to my peers and reports.”
