INSAR 2026 Poster Presentation

About INSAR 2026

The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting is the premier venue for cutting-edge autism research. Bringing together leading researchers, clinicians, self-advocates, and autism specialists from around the world, INSAR fosters collaboration and innovation in understanding autism across the lifespan. The 2026 meeting emphasizes the importance of co-design principles, accessibility, and practical applications that directly benefit autistic individuals and their communities.

Our Contribution

“Insights from the Inside: Ethical Co-Design of Technology with and for Nonspeaking Autistic People”

Our poster presents critical findings from our ongoing participatory research that centers the voices and expertise of nonspeaking autistic people in developing assistive technology. Rather than designing for nonspeaking autistic individuals, we have committed to designing with them—a fundamental shift that transforms both our process and our outcomes.

The Research

Working with a collaborative team of 6 nonspeaking autistic adults who type, 2 support professionals, and 5 engineers and researchers, we conducted participatory research (summer 2025) following AASPIRE guidelines to develop shared values and refine our project goals. Our analysis identified three critical themes that guide our work:

Shared Values for Authentic Inclusion:

Accommodations: Equitable time with flexibility, asynchronous contributions, bite-sized accessible tasks
Collaboration: Presuming competence, listening to everyone, iterating together
Respect & Openness: Mutual trust, honoring diverse lived experiences

Refined Project Goals

Through democratic collaboration, our project goal evolved to reflect what actually matters to the people we serve:

Target User Clarity: We focus on nonspeakers with pointing experience who need personalized, adaptive typing training
Autonomy Over Independence: Our language shifted from “independent” to “autonomous” to honor individualized definitions of agency
Addressing Systemic Issues: We recognize the complexity of supports needed to reduce both external and internalized ableism

This participatory foundation now guides the co-design of our technology, ensuring that every feature, interface, and interaction reflects the values, expertise, and agency of nonspeaking autistic people.

Our Poster

Below is our poster presentation for INSAR 2026:

You can also download the poster here.