Viva Kai is a Community Interest Company focused on making fun and relaxing places more accessible for neurodivergent people. From independent self-advocates, to those fully reliant on family or carers, our aim is to empower autistic and other neurodivergent people to access hospitality, tourism, leisure and other similar spaces.

This is a very personal mission. I knew very little about autism until my son Kai was diagnosed at age three. Kai is now 9, and his journey led to mine: a very late autism diagnosis and a whole new reflection on what autism means to different people. For us, this was shaped by experiences of feeling excluded and isolated from life. This included enduring years of intolerance from a family who mocked Kai as "retarded", would bang through the wall to him, make malicious noise complaint calls about his stimming, and engage in threats of violence. Simultaneously, we were fighting to get Kai into a school with better staff ratios, and then had to battle for access to SLT and other support after being left for the majority of his time at the school without any. At the same time, I was having my own issues at work with lack of support, and coming to the realisation I had been struggling longterm with the social and political aspects of work and life. This took its toll on the whole family, and my own health.  We would try to get out and find some escape and joy but unfortunately, even in hospitality, travel and leisure services, we encountered disapproving looks, and hostile comments. The final straw came, when I was told to remove Kai from a local theatre show because of his stimming noises. I vowed from that day on to give a voice to families like ours to have a stronger say in shaping "accessible and inclusive spaces". 

Welcome to Viva Kai

Building a Neurodivergent-Friendly World—One Venue, One Person, One Adventure at a Time

I have to be grateful to have some wonderful people help us through these challenges, including family, friends, charities, staff at venues who go the extra mile and many others. And with that light seeing us through, it's exciting to now focus on learning and doing all I can to help other autistic/neurodivergent people and their families get out more, relax, have fun and make the most of life ! We also now have a number of wonderful collaborators, including University students supporting Viva Kai's mission. A special thanks to Stirling University final year Psychology students - Eden Simpson, Gabi Reid, and Napier University Computing student Shatha Mansour ! And as we progress more ideas for the future, I am hopeful we can open more doors for neurodivergent people and their families to experience more joy in their lives. 

Founder Viva Kai CIC

Paul