Value Sensitive Design for Neurodiverse Teams in Higher Education.

In a neurodiverse team, such as one comprised of students with autism and neurotypical students, social interaction and cognitive styles differ. We used a Value-Sensitive Design (VSD) approach to explore the role of technology in supporting the diverse values of neurodiverse teams. We conducted interviews with higher education disability services staff, followed by interviews with students with autism. We analyzed the students' values using the Q-Methodology. We found that key values of students with autism are: freedom from stigma, individual comfort, social comfort, social connection, and team cohesion. Through a VSD technical investigation, we found that current collaboration and affective technologies focus on supporting social connection and team cohesion. However, these technologies tend to not enable tailoring the user experience for the individual comfort that can benefit autistic users.