ACCESSIBILITY
Because of the conference's topic, we've implemented quality-of-life changes to the way we run it. The first action we've incorporated is a traffic light system for socialising, which you will find below.
Traffic Light System
We have been inspired by Fraser & Jenkinson-Brown's (n.d.) Signum Project, which incorporates a traffic light system of social interaction at conferences to minimise the considerable social pressures that accompany in-person professional conferences. This system offers a great deal of flexibility and comfort for everyone by giving people control over their social interactions and creating a more inviting environment.
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At NDAS, we will have sticker sets (see below) for people to take and use at their convenience. We encourage everyone to participate as this can promote a wider adoption of the traffic light system.
Room Layouts
We have adopted some central tenets of Autistica's Inclusive Spaces Plan. Namely, we want to change attitudes surrounding neurodivergence to empower people to create accessible spaces. We believe that information can enable access, and thus we've provided advance information about what our spaces look like so members can decide whether to visit and how to prepare. You can read more about Autistica's Inclusive Spaces Plan here.
*NEWSCI 0.01 & NEWSCI 0.02 have a very similar room layout as well as NEWSCI 0.07 and NEWSCI 0.08.
Cusack, J. (2024). Autistica Inclusive Spaces Plan launch. Autistica. Retrieved June 26, 2024, from https://www.autistica.org.uk/news/inclusive-spaces-plan
Fraser, C. B., & Jenkinson-Brown, L. (n.d.). Introducing the Signum Project. Asterion. Retrieved June 26, 2024, from https://asterion.uk/index.php/resources/introducing-the-signum-project/
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