Neurodiversity: Blueprints for Belonging (UNIB20027)

The number of openly neurodivergent people present in universities and workplaces is increasing, and much of this population report challenges that could be improved through better design in a wide range of areas. Potential changes include the design of spaces, technologies, education, processes, norms, communication, products, and even medical/psychological interventions to be more inclusive.  

Neurodivergent is an umbrella term that refers to people whose neurology falls outside the norm, such as people who are Autistic, Dyslexic, ADHD, and many other neurotypes. 

Neurodivergent people are often treated exclusively within the medical model, which usually puts the locus of the problem on the individual, and treats differences as deficits. This perspective is important to understand and has led to helpful treatments. However, this focus on individuals can downplay the impact of a world that presents social and environmental barriers. This approach can also limit the extent to which people from other disciplines can contribute to neurodivergent thriving, because centring medical or psychological treatments reduces the impetus to create innovative ways to include people through tech and design.  

In this subject, students from different disciplines will collaborate in designing for a more inclusive world. Assessments will focus on ideating, pitching, and developing inclusive designs relevant to students’ studies and interests. This includes navigating the challenging terrain of conflicting ideas, research, and attitudes in this field, and incorporating research from different subject areas into the design process. 

Within this subject, students will learn: 

1. The history of how neurodiversity has been understood in different fields, the tensions and agreements between medical and social perspectives, and ways of integrating learnings from each field.
2. How tensions from different perspectives, such as between the medical and social models, have rippled out into other disciplines, leading to questions about how neurodiversity should be designed and taught for. For example, should designs try to meet the needs of all people who might use a product, space, or process? Or should each person be responsible for accommodating their own needs through personalised strategies or products?
3. How Design Thinking can be used to identify the needs of neurodivergent people and design products that meet these needs. 

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Describe tensions and commonalities between literature related to neurodiversity from medical, psychological, and sociological models
• Critically review research and theory from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective
• Identify and outline challenges for neurodivergent people using an interdisciplinary framework
• Create a practical solution to an identified challenge applying a design thinking approach
• Evaluate a design solution from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

Generic skills

• Critical and creative thinking
• Developing and applying new ideas
• Identifying and solving problems
• Understanding diverse modes of inquiry
• Presenting ideas in verbal, written, audio, and/or visual modes.