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• Understanding the Perspectives of Autistic Gamers through an Online Autistic Community and a Survey

  Sohyeon Park, Aehong Min, Anne Marie Piper, Gillian R. Hayes · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates the gaming experiences and preferences of autistic people using a multi-method approach that combines analysis of Reddit posts from an autism-focused subreddit with a survey of 145 autistic adults. The research addresses a significant gap: while video…

  autism · video games · gaming accessibility · cognitive accessibility · sensory processing

• Adaptive and Storytelling Practices of Panamanian Autism Families: Towards Culturally-Situated Digital Storytelling

  Elizabeth del Carmen Castillo, Debbie Alvarado Latino, Cecilia Aracelly Fonseca Sánchez, Annuska Zolyomi · 2026 · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (GROUP)

  This PACM HCI (GROUP) paper presents a formative, culturally-situated design study with eight Panamanian mothers of autistic individuals (ages 3–27) to understand the resource barriers autism families face in Panamá and the role storytelling plays in their daily lives. The…

  autism · neurodiversity · culture · Global South · storytelling

• Belonging in the Making: Investigating Inclusive Makerspace Design for Youth with Autism

  Krystal Yangmengzi Zhang, Marie Sakowicz, Emily Wingeart, Foad Hamidi · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Zhang, Sakowicz, Wingeart, and Hamidi investigate how makerspaces — the hands-on, technology-rich learning environments that have become common in libraries, schools, and community centres — can be designed to genuinely include youth with autism, rather than treating…

  technology-rich learning · accessibility · makerspaces · belonging · disability

• ATTENPlay: A Game-Based Attention Network Test for Autistic Children

  Yuying Wan, Xin Tong, Kaishun Wu · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper addresses a long-standing methodological problem in autism research: the Attention Network Test (ANT) — the standard computerized tool for measuring alerting, orienting, and executive-control attention networks — is abstract, repetitive, and built for…

  autism · autism spectrum disorder · attention network test · cognitive assessment · game-based assessment

• Navigating Financial Lives: How Autistic Adults Adapt Financial Technologies, Tools and Strategies

  Helena Lyhme, Belen Barros Pena, Stephanie Wilson · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper is, to the authors' knowledge, the first HCI study of how autistic adults navigate their financial lives — budgeting, banking, bill-paying, saving, managing unpredictability — using, adapting, and re-inventing financial technologies. The authors ground the…

  autism · neurodiversity · fintech · financial accessibility · moneywork

• "Chasing Shadows": Understanding Personal Data Externalization and Self-Tracking for Neurodivergent Individuals

  Tanya Rudberg Selin, Danielle Uneus, Soren Knudsen · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper examines a mismatch between the promises of self-tracking and personal informatics — rich self-awareness, reflection, insight — and the lived experience of neurodivergent individuals, for whom stable routines, generalised Likert items, and internal…

  self-tracking · personal informatics · neurodiversity · autism · ADHD

• Autiverse: Eliciting Autistic Adolescents' Daily Narratives through AI-guided Multimodal Journaling

  Migyeong Yang, Kyungah Lee, Jinyoung Han, SoHyun Park, Young-Ho Kim · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Yang and colleagues present Autiverse, a tablet-based AI-guided multimodal journaling app for autistic adolescents with functional verbal abilities (formerly classified as Level 1 / high-functioning autism). The paper addresses a well-documented gap: although journaling is an…

  autism · adolescents · journaling · large language models · conversational agents

• Autistic Adults' Perspectives on Self-Expression and Dyadic vs. Group Interactions in AR Telepresence

  Mahrukh Tauseef, Alexandra Watkins, Zalen Ingram, Rendong Zhang, Akshith Ullal, Ritam Ghosh, Amy Sue Weitlauf, Zachary Warren, Nilanjan Sarkar · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper investigates how autistic adults experience augmented reality (AR) telepresence as a medium for social interaction, a population whose needs are largely absent from existing avatar and social VR/AR research. Motivated by the high prevalence of social…

  autism · augmented reality · avatars · social presence · telepresence

• Lost in Translation: Understanding Autistic-Neurotypical Communication Style Differences in Job Postings

  Huining Feng, Zinat Ara, Andrew Hundt, Slobodan Vucetic, John Joon Young Chung, Sungsoo Ray Hong · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper investigates a concrete and consequential site of autistic-neurotypical (NT) communication mismatch: the written job posting. Autistic adults face an approximately 85% unemployment or underemployment rate (compared to 4% in the general US population), and…

  autism · autistic communication · communication style differences · autistic employment · double empathy problem

• Navigating Neurodivergence with AI Chatbots: Benefits, Tensions, and Implications for HCI

  Deepak Giri, Erin Brady, Megh Marathe · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 short paper presents a qualitative interview study of how neurodivergent adults use AI chatbots (primarily ChatGPT) in everyday life, and what tensions arise. The authors conducted 23 semi-structured, 50-minute Zoom interviews with participants recruited via…

  neurodivergence · AI chatbots · ADHD · autism · masking

• Tinged with Heartbreak: An Ethnographic Account of Navigating Autistic Loneliness and the Fragile Promise of AI Companionship

  Anna Hollis · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This CHI 2026 paper is a reflexive ethnographic case study (n=1) of 'Andrea', a middle-aged autistic businesswoman in the Western world, and her six-month relationship with Xander, a Replika AI companion she ultimately lost to a corrupting software update. Anna Hollis, a…

  chatbot companions · autism · grief · technological instability · AI companionship

• Collaboration and Assistive Technology: Facilitating Joint Awareness for Noise Sensitivity

  Emani Hicks, Luc Rieffel, Ariya Gowda, Aehong Min, Gillian R Hayes · 2026 · Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  People with noise sensitivity (PWNS) - including those with misophonia, hyperacusis, and tinnitus, and overlapping strongly with the autistic community (estimated 45% prevalence) - experience everyday sounds as painful, distressing, or overwhelming. Existing supports are patchy:…

  noise sensitivity · misophonia · hyperacusis · sensory processing · autism

• Sona: Towards Context-Aware, Real-Time Personalization of Acoustic Environments for Noise Sensitivity

  Jeremy Zhengqi Huang, Emani Hicks, Sidharth, Gillian R Hayes, Dhruv Jain · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Huang and colleagues (University of Michigan and UC Irvine) reframe acoustic accessibility for people with noise sensitivity as selective, user-steerable soundscape mediation rather than wholesale noise cancellation. The authors argue that current commercial tools - active noise…

  noise sensitivity · misophonia · hyperacusis · autism · neurodivergence

• Beyond Prompt-Following: Empowering Social Agency in Autistic Children through Narrative Framing

  Min Zhou, Xinheng Song, Xiaolan Peng, Mingxuan Jin, Soumya C. Barathi · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  NarraSocial is a Unity-based virtual environment for autistic children aged 6–10 that reframes social-skills interventions away from the prompt-and-response loop characteristic of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and most VR-based social skills training. The authors observed…

  autism · autistic children · social agency · narrative design · virtual environment

• CollaDrum: Designing a Tangible Interactive Sonic System to Foster Collaboration in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  Yinhan Gao, Yalong Luo, Wenwei Jiang, Wanling Cai, Yucheng Jin · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  CollaDrum is a co-designed tangible sonic system intended to scaffold task-based peer collaboration for autistic children in classroom settings, with explicit attention to not adding cognitive overhead from novel interaction paradigms. The authors interviewed five educators…

  autism · autistic children · tangible interfaces · classroom technology · collaboration

• Understanding Clinician Experiences with Game-Based Interventions for Autistic Children to Inform a Future Game Platform Focused on Improving Motor Skills

  Hunter M. Beach, Devin Jay D. San Nicolas, Carly Miller, Cathy Ly, Jared Duval · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26)

  This CHI 2026 Extended Abstract reports a two-phase qualitative study with pediatric physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) to inform the design of AutMotion Studio, a speculative modular platform of motor-skill minigames for autistic children. Up to 87% of…

  autism · motor skills · serious games for health · pediatric therapy · physical therapy

• Demonstrating Consent Rings: Explicit Non-Verbal Consent Through Haptic Wearables as a Solution to Unwanted Sex Between Neurodivergent Partners

  Braeden Burger, Douglas Zytko · 2026 · Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '26)

  Consent Rings is a pair of symmetric haptic Bluetooth ring wearables developed by three neurodivergent researchers as an accessibility-oriented alternative to verbal 'yes means yes' affirmative consent. The authors situate the work in evidence that neurodivergent people - those…

  neurodivergence · autism · ADHD · consent technology · haptic wearables

• "I Felt Like I Was in a Fishbowl": Lived Experience with Telepresence and Non-Visible Disabilities in Higher Education

  Hanlin Zhang, Yifan Feng, Adam Walker, Jennifer A. Rode · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents the first ethnographic study of telepresence robot use by students with non-visible disabilities in higher education. The researchers conducted a 10-week ethnography in a postgraduate seminar course at University College London, where students could attend…

  telepresence · non-visible disability · neurodiversity · mental health · higher education

• Disclosure of Neurodivergence in Software Workplaces: a Mixed Methods Study of Forum and Survey Perspectives

  Kaia Newman, Sarah Snay, Madeline Endres, Manasvi Parikh, Andrew Begel · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a large-scale mixed-methods study examining how neurodivergent software developers navigate the decision to disclose their neurodivergence at work. The researchers combined qualitative analysis of 99 posts and their comments from r/ADHD_Programmers (the…

  neurodiversity · disability disclosure · workplace accessibility · ADHD · autism

• NeuroBridge: Using Generative AI to Bridge Cross-neurotype Communication Differences through Neurotypical Perspective-taking

  Rukhshan Haroon, Kyle Wigdor, Katie Yang, Nicole Toumanios, Eileen T Crehan, Fahad Dogar · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents NeuroBridge, an LLM-powered interactive platform designed to help neurotypical individuals better understand autistic communication styles and reflect on their own role in cross-neurotype communication breakdowns. The system is grounded in the double empathy…

  autism · neurodiversity · large language models · cross-neurotype communication · perspective-taking

• Helping or Homogenizing? GenAI as a Design Partner to Pre-Service SLPs for Just-in-Time Programming of AAC

  Cynthia Zastudil, Christine Holyfield, Christine Kapp, Kate Hamilton, Kriti Baru, Liam Newsam, June A. Smith, Stephen MacNeil · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates the integration of generative AI into augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, specifically examining how AI-suggested hotspots affect the creation of visual scene displays (VSDs). VSDs are image-based communication tools that embed…

  augmentative and alternative communication · AAC · visual scene displays · generative AI · autism

• The Fears, The Hopes, The Oscillations: A Critical Analysis of Tech Startups Targeting Autism

  Yihe Wang, Bhavani Seetharaman, Rosemary Steup, Norman Makoto Su, Kathryn E. Ringland · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper employs thematic and critical discourse analysis to examine the websites of 38 autism tech startups founded in the U.S. since 2012, investigating how these companies construct problems, users, and technological legitimacy through their marketing language. The autism…

  autism · disability representation · critical disability studies · marketing discourse · tech startups

• Understanding Human-AI Misalignment in LLM-Based Job-Seeking Support for Neurodivergent Users

  Kaely Hall, Marcus Ma, Xinyue Zhang, Vedant Das Swain, Jennifer G Kim · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper examines how misalignments manifest between neurodivergent job-seekers and a GPT-4-powered career support chatbot deployed by Mentra, a neuroinclusive employment platform with over 46,000 neurodivergent users. The researchers analysed 348 real-world chat logs from 271…

  neurodivergence · large language models · employment · AI alignment · autism

• Color-Coded Emotional Learning Serious Games for Children with Autism: Foregrounding Facial Expression Recognition & Accessibility

  Tahani Jaser Alahmadi, Haifa Albahli, Modhi Alqahtani, Hind Bin Mehaya, Imtinan Alqahtani, Joory Alotaibi · 2025 · Proceedings of the 22nd International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This technical note presents Muheet, a mobile application that uses color-emotion associations and AI-based facial expression recognition to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) understand and recognize emotions. ASD affects approximately 1.5-2% of the global…

  autism · emotional learning · serious games · facial expression recognition · machine learning

• Building Narratives and Probing Concepts: Preparing Materials for Co-Design with Autistic Livestreamers

  Terrance Mok, Tyson Hartley, Anthony Tang, Adam McCrimmon, Lora Oehlberg · 2025 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents scenario-based design (SBD) materials developed to facilitate future co-design sessions with autistic livestreamers on Twitch. Building on prior ethnographic research involving semi-structured interviews with 10 autistic adult streamers, the authors transform…

  autism · livestreaming · Twitch · co-design · scenario-based design