On May 29, 2024, the Fostering Inclusivity through Technology (FIT) hosted their first annual workshop.
FIT is a research project investigating why and how autistic and non-autistic people often misunderstand each other, particularly in workplace conversations. The ultimate goal of the project is to build technology to promote mutual understanding between autistic and non-autistic people.
The workshop was designed for social scientists, technologists, autistic advocates, support professionals, and business leaders to exchange ideas and identify promising potential directions for the research. 39 people attended, including 17 members of the FIT team and 22 other researchers and stakeholders with an interest in the project. 12 of the attendees were autistic, so the event was designed to be inclusive and accessible to all. After a morning of presentations and discussion about research progress, the group broke into small teams with diverse backgrounds and expertise to brainstorm how to redesign workplace conversations, inspired by quotes from interviews with autistic people about their workplace experiences.
