Matthew started working on the Web in '95 at an experimental dance company in Ottawa Canada. This became an obsession with bleeding edge technologies. His decades of experience in the technology sphere as a project manager and Web application architect segued into joining the Drupal community in 2007. He has spoken at numerous tech conferences. Saunders was on the Drupalcon Denver organizing committee, is Director of Drupalcamp Colorado, and helped found the Drupal Event Organizing Working Group. He runs a consultancy at https://www.jamesmatthewsaunders.ai. He is an activist in neurodiversity. Matthew works with amazee.io as their AI Ambassador.
If recognizing the value of neurodiversity is the first step, the next is changing systems, environments, and behaviours to actually support neurodivergent people. Neuroinclusive spaces use the ethos of Universal Design.
Universal design (UD) is a concept that involves designing products and environments to be usable by as many people as possible, regardless of age, size, ability, or disability. The goal is to maximize usability without the need for specialized design or adaptation. UD can be applied to many things, including buildings, services, tools, learning strategies, and physical spaces. It focuses on equity in design.
This session will move beyond why neurodiversity matters and focus on how to operationalize inclusion at every level of an organization, from hiring, to team culture, to leadership practices.
Neuroinclusion isn’t about fixing people, it’s about fixing systems.
This session offers practical strategies for building neuro inclusive organizations by applying the principles of Universal Design to workplace systems, culture, and leadership. Participants will learn how to identify hidden barriers and implement changes that foster clarity, flexibility, and psychological safety for all minds.
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Three learning objectives |
• Recognize systemic barriers that neurodivergent people face in hiring, learning, and workplace environments. Most importantly, how these often go unnoticed. |
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