I will share the story about the collaboration of designers, architects, and urban planners with adults with autism. The goal of the collaboration is to make the design process inclusive for the neurodiverse population. The design process through the lenses of the neurodiverse population can help us manage the disruptive aspect of urban planning or urban design. One of the reasons that some plans are not executed or good prescription recommendations don't get taken on is because of fear of the unknown change.
The participants will be engaged through the series of discussions that would ask participants to reflect on the Feelings Framework, developed in collaboration with adults with autism. https://www.planning.org/planning/2018/oct/sensoryoverload/
The goal of this session is to inform participants about inclusive engagement in the design process and to influence the decision-making process towards accommodation of the existing public, digital, virtual, and social environment with neurodiversity in mind. The main objective is to involve the neurodiverse population in collaboration on the topic of designing inclusive public events.
In the field of planning and design, a vigorous public participation process is essential, for reasons both ethical and practical: the more citizens involved, the better the information collected. There is reason to believe the standard practice of the public events may be somewhat exclusionary of adults with autism and neurodiverse population.
Participants will learn about the participation preferences of adults with autism to feel more connected, free, clear safe, private (when needed), calm, and ultimately, included in the decision-making process.
I will have a short 10-minutes presentation for 30 participants attending the session. I will share with them digital materials to look at, ask them to answer a short survey online on the topic of neurodiversity and design.
With a small number of attendees, I will engage in the discussions and ask them to reflect on the Feelings Framework, bringing their own life experiences about design, space, and feelings.
I hope to broaden my network and continue to collaborate with participants of Mozfest-2021 with the potential to impact future design, public policy, and provide outcomes that would enhance the neurodiverse population's quality of life.
Targeted areas: Effectiveness of Augmentative Communication Systems (for public participation), Improving Access to and Effectiveness of Existing Systems and Services (planning and design process, decision-making), Integrated Employment, Intersectionality, Equity and Diversity, Community Services and Supports
Gala Korniyenko is Ph.D. Candidate at Ohio State University. She is interested in the topics of inclusion of neurodiversity, autism, planning, urban design, and the issues of sensory overload.