Let's Play!
Online Expressive Arts Group for Neurodivergent Kids
Ages 8-11
A place to make things, play, invent, be weird, follow ideas sideways, and connect with other kids without having to figure out the “right” way to belong.
Art on Purpose Kit™ Included
Every kid in Let’s Play receives their own Let’s Play! Art on Purpose™ kit, shipped to their home before the group begins.
It’s packed with materials for drawing, painting, building, sculpting, inventing, decorating, fidgeting, experimenting, and following ideas wherever they go.
We’ll use the kit throughout our eight weeks together — but there are no prescribed projects and no expectation that everyone makes the same thing.
The kit also includes 5 Make Art on Purpose invitations with QR codes kids can use between sessions for playful, self-directed creative exploration.
The $95 kit + shipping are included with Let’s Play registration.
Characters on Purpose
Different On Purpose already has a growing cast of characters who do things their own way.
Meet Beeno, Bombo, and Bella — characters created by neurodivergent children ages 8-11.
During Let’s Play!, kids will get to invent characters of their own — creatures, heroes, oddballs, monsters, animals, imaginary beings, or something that does not have a category yet.
With permission, characters created in the group can be featured in the Characters on Purpose gallery on the Different On Purpose website.
And one character from each Let’s Play! session will be invited to join the official Different On Purpose Character Collection.
There is no “best” character.
The point is to make something that feels like yours.
Beeno™, a bee who decides to be different on purpose.
Bombo™, a borb who is figuring out what home means.
Bella™, a burb who learns how to shine by being herself.
Meet your facilitator
Hi, I’m Mandy.
I’m an expressive arts practitioner, therapist, interdisciplinary artist, educator, and mom. I’ve spent more than 25 years working with neurodivergent children and families in therapeutic, educational, creative, and community spaces.
Let’s Play! isn’t about teaching kids how to behave better in groups.
I’m interested in what happens when we build the group differently.
When kids have something to make with their hands. When movement is allowed. When enthusiasm isn’t too much. When there’s room to watch before joining, follow an unexpected idea, communicate through a character, or take the activity somewhere I absolutely did not plan for it to go.
Participation can look different here, too.
Kids can turn their camera off. Mute their microphone. Use the chat. Move around the room. Fidget. Look away from the screen. Wear headphones. Take a sensory break. Listen without talking. Come back when they’re ready. Or participate through the art when words feel like too much.
My job is to provide enough structure for the group to feel safe and held — and enough flexibility for kids to participate in ways that actually work for their brains and bodies.
I created Let’s Play! because I believe kids deserve spaces where belonging does not require becoming less of who they are.