Nonprofit plans to bring neurodiverse community to Fayetteville

Damara Hale
·2 min read

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The city of Fayetteville and Supporting Lifelong Success for Neurodiverse Adults is moving forward with its community designed for neurodiverse people at Kessler Mountain Regional Park.

“This whole concept started through my little sister’s experience with autism,” said Ashton McCombs, executive director of Supporting Lifelong Success Community.

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Supporting Lifelong Success for Neurodiverse Adults or SLS is a non-profit that aims to bring resources like housing, long-term support, services, and job opportunities to neurodiverse adults in the community.

“It reached a threshold where she needed clinical interventions and she had to move out of state for four years because we just didn’t have the services here,” said McCombs.

McCombs says the nonprofit aims to bring those resources to Fayetteville for families and adults like his sister. Neurodiverse adults are described as adults with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy or intellectual disabilities.

“It’s just a way of celebrating the unique differences and abilities of those people because everyone has something they can contribute,” said McCombs.

The groundbreaking for the SLS community took place in 2022 at the Kessler Mountain Regional Park. Rep. Steve Womack’s community project fund awarded the project $3.48 million to fund the initial infrastructure.

“We want to scale as this development is ongoing because it’s really a larger economic development project for Fayetteville and the region,” said McCombs.

The main part of what makes the community welcoming for neurodiverse people is its features like access to nature and trails. That’s why he hopes it will be inclusive for all.

“We want inclusion, integration, really a supportive neighborhood, you know, that includes folks of all backgrounds, all abilities,” said McCombs.

McCombs says the long-term project is expected to be finished around 15 years. He also clarified that the community, while designed for neurodiverse people, is open to anyone.

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