Programs & Support: Building a BRIDGE for Neuro-Complex Communities
Our programs form a BRIDGE for patients and disabled artists: Belonging, Research, Impact storytelling, Disabled-led stage, Guidance, and Economic access. On this page, you’ll see how that translates into five practical areas: Stage, Support, Learn, Insight, and Fund.
BRIDGE
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PILLARS
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BRIDGE 〰️ PILLARS 〰️
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Support circles & peer spaces
We are building trauma-aware peer spaces where neuro-complex patients, caregivers, and disabled artists can check in, share resources, and feel believed. Belonging is the foundation: no one should have to walk through medical dismissal or career loss alone. -
InsightLab is our research and policy arm. Through InsightLab, we are beginning to track and translate emerging science on EDS, CCI/AAI, brainstem instability, and related conditions—and connect it to real patient stories. Our goal is to surface patterns, gaps, and future research directions that traditional systems miss.
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StoryLab, podcasts, ConcertStories
The early pilot of impact storytelling takes lived experience and puts it where it can’t be ignored: in essays, podcasts, short films, and live performance. We intend to use storytelling to shift culture, educate clinicians, and give funders a human lens on why this work matters. -
Adaptive concerts & media
Disabled artists are centered as leaders, not tokens. Our concerts, performances, and films will be built around their bodies, access needs, and creative visions—showing what inclusion looks like when the stage, schedule, and story all adapt to the artist. -
Clinician/musician training
We aim to develop talks, workshops, and practical tools for clinicians, educators, and arts organizations. Topics include recognizing brainstem and cervical red flags, responding to complex patients without defaulting to psych labels, and creating adaptive pathways for injured or disabled musicians. -
CareBridge Fund, micro-grants
Many patients and artists know what care they need but can’t reach it. CareBridge is our emerging fund to support access to evaluations, treatments, and adaptive tools or instruments. Over time, we aim to build a mix of micro-grants, scholarships, and partnership support that keeps people in their lives and careers.
We are in our pre-launch pilot phase. BRIDGE describes the long-term framework we are building. In Year 1, we are piloting key pieces of Stage (ConcertStories) and Insight (InsightLab), while co-designing Support, Learn, and the CareBridge Fund with our community and advisors. Programs may evolve as we learn what is most effective.
Stories of CCI, AAI, Tethered Spinal Cord, and More
Multimedia Music Production
Stories of CCI, AAI, Tethered Spinal Cord, and More Multimedia Music Production
Stage is where our work meets the public.
Through ConcertStories™ & adaptive events, we pair live performance with the real stories of neuro-complex patients—especially those navigating EDS, CCI/AAI, and brainstem injury. Disabled and non-disabled artists share the stage, and access needs are designed in from the start, not added at the end.
Stage
ConcertStories™ & adaptive events
Present a work-in-progress performance in Denton in partnership with UNT and local artists
Host a mini-gala–style event in Dallas, combining performance, short film, and dialogue with patients and clinicians
Pair one event with an EDS/brainstem awareness workshop, linking art directly with education for communities and professionals
Year 1 pilots:
Your support today helps us:
Pay disabled musicians, composers, and patient collaborators fairly
Secure accessible venues in Denton and Dallas, with rehearsal time built in
Provide ASL, CART, and access support so disabled artists and audience members can fully participate
Film and edit 3–4 short ConcertStories™ pieces and a highlight reel we can share with hospitals, universities, and funders
Promote the events so patients, clinicians, and community members actually see and hear these stories
Spring Stage Pilot – funding need: This pilot has an estimated total value of about $40,000. Thanks to in-kind support (including venue access and partner discounts), we are seeking approximately $30,000 in cash support to fully deliver the project.
Year 1 pilots:
Publish 3–5 in-depth written stories from patients and disabled artists on our website
Pair several stories with podcast episodes or short video clips for deeper impact.
Build a simple, trauma-aware process for people to safely share their stories with us
StoryLab is our story engine. We elevate the voices of neuro-complex patients, caregivers, and disabled artists through written narratives, podcasts, and short films. These are not “inspiration stories”—they’re case studies of what it means to live through misdiagnosis, brainstem injury, and inaccessible systems.
StoryLab
Conversations with change-makers.
Make it
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.
Looking ahead, we are exploring a Brainstem & Adaptive Arts Symposium & Gala as a future flagship event, once our pilots (ConcertStories™, InsightLab, and support programs) are established and funded. The timing and format will be shaped with our community, partners, and early funders.