Measuring what matters: Operationalizing neurodiversity‐affirming practices through participatory design of STEM workshops for autistic youth

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. four authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Kilgallon, E., O’Brien, S., Grossman, E., Gravelle, C. D., Dwyer, P., Obeid, R., Riccio, A., Suárez, J., Arif, A., Cordova‐Castellanos, G., Santos, J. D., Kofner, B., Yan, A., & Gillespie-Lynch, K. (2026). Measuring what matters: Operationalizing neurodiversity‐affirming practices through participatory design of STEM workshops for autistic youth. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70140

Publication date: 1 Jul 2026 Added to AutiHub: 30 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
14
Publication authors identified as autistic
4 / 14 (28.6%)
  1. Elizabeth Kilgallon *
  2. Sinéad O’Brien
  3. Eliana Grossman
  4. C. Donnan Gravelle
  5. Patrick Dwyer *
  1. Rita Obeid
  2. Ariana Riccio
  3. Jimena Suárez
  4. Aleena Arif
  5. Grace Cordova‐Castellanos
  1. Jin Delos Santos *
  2. Bella Kofner *
  3. Andrew Yan
  4. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch

Abstract

Abstract Limited research has examined how neurodiversity‐affirming approaches are (1) co‐created with autistic people, (2) operationalized, (3) implemented, (4) assessed and (5) iterated. Across a 3‐year program of research, we co‐developed and iterated game design and employment workshops for and with autistic youth. After encountering difficulties enacting authentically neurodiversity‐affirming approaches during the Year 2 workshop, we developed neurodiversity‐affirming principles that guided hiring, training, curriculum development and student and staff advocacy opportunities in Year 3 workshops. We assessed fidelity to these principles. This paper examines if these changes were associated with increases in: 1) neurodiversity‐affirming staff practices and (2) student engagement with workshop content. Masked coders analysed the following data sources from Years 2 and 3: (1) video recordings of staff teaching practices, (2) pre‐ and post‐workshop staff surveys and (3) students' ratings of engagement with workshop activities. Staff used neurodiversity‐affirming practices more frequently after the aforementioned changes. Student‐reported engagement did not differ across years and was generally high. However, in Year 3 only, student engagement improved within workshops following intentionally advocacy‐oriented student feedback loops. Findings show that redefining fidelity as a flexible, values‐driven process offers a model for inclusive program design that fosters socially valid, responsive learning environments.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 08:06.

Cited references
68
With a DOI
52
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
16
14 / 68 (20.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 68 (10.3%)
References with detected author names
61 / 68 (89.7%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
16
References with raw author names still to review
6
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
229
From DOI or external metadata
229
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
6
114 / 229 (49.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 115 / 229 (50.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
40 / 229 (17.5%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 40 / 114 (35.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 26 / 192 (13.5%).
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