Designing user experiences for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder

By Julian Scaff

Too often, apps, websites, devices, and physical environments are designed for an imagined ‘average’ user, leaving neurodivergent people to navigate unnecessary barriers. (Digital photocollage by Julian Scaff using stock images from Pexels.)

I first began learning about Autism Spectrum Disorder in my early forties, and it wasn’t until I turned fifty that I received a formal diagnosis. Looking back, so much of my life suddenly made sense: the constant struggle to navigate basic social interactions, the panic attacks triggered by overstimulating school and work environments, and the lifelong puzzle of never quite knowing how to “fit in.”

Getting the diagnosis was transformative; it was like finally receiving the operating instructions for my own brain. For the first time, I understood why I experienced the world the way I did, and that knowledge was both comforting and empowering. It provided me with practical tools to function more effectively in everyday life, and it also gave me important insights into UX design for neurodivergent users, showing how seemingly small choices in interface, clarity, and control can make a significant difference between accessibility and exclusion.

I have had the opportunity to design some of the most complex interfaces imaginable, including command-and-control software for deep space communications and situation awareness dashboards. These are environments where clarity, precision, and systems thinking are paramount, and I’ve found that my strengths as a person with ASD have been powerful assets. My ability to focus for long periods, quickly recognize patterns in complex datasets, and visualize and mentally architect entire systems enables me to design and navigate these intricate interfaces with fluency and confidence. I have also learned to recognize how UX and interaction patterns can affect neurodivergent users.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that shapes how people perceive, process, and interact with the world around them. It’s marked by differences in communication, sensory processing, and behavior. While often described in terms of challenges, it also comes with distinctive strengths such as deep focus, pattern recognition, and creative problem-solving.

In this essay, I explore what ASD is, how widespread it is, and why it matters deeply to the field of user experience (UX) and interaction design (IXD). My own personal experience with ASD has informed this work, giving me firsthand insight into how digital environments can either enable or exclude. Too often, apps, websites, devices, and connected systems are designed for an imagined “average” user, leaving neurodivergent people to navigate unnecessary barriers. For designers, developing fluency in neurodivergence is not just an ethical responsibility but also a pathway to more inclusive, effective, and innovative design. By grounding design practices in the lived experiences of autistic users and applying structured models for evaluation, we can create user experiences that are calmer, more predictable, and more empowering for everyone.

Understanding Autism: Strengths and Challenges

The characteristics of ASD are often framed in terms of shortcomings: difficulty with reciprocal conversations, challenges with nonverbal communication like eye contact or gestures, a strong need for routines and sameness, and sensitivity to sensory input such as light, sound, or touch. Yet ASD is not only about deficits.

Many autistic people demonstrate remarkable strengths: deep focus on areas of interest, exceptional memory, heightened pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, and a strong sense of fairness and authenticity. These differences mean that ASD should be understood not as a problem to “fix,” but as a distinct neurotype within the diversity of human minds.

Causes of Autism

Scientific consensus is clear: autism is caused by a combination of genetic and biological factors, often beginning in prenatal brain development. Research shows that autism tends to run in families and is linked to multiple genes that influence brain connectivity and communication. Studies also point to differences in neurotransmitters and brain development in regions responsible for language, sensory processing, and social interaction. Environmental factors, such as advanced parental age, prenatal illness, or exposure to air pollution, may increase the likelihood of ASD in genetically predisposed individuals.

Just as important as understanding what contributes to autism is debunking myths about what does not. Vaccines do not cause autism. This conspiracy originated from a fraudulent study in 1998 that has since been fully discredited and retracted. Similarly, no evidence links the use of acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy to autism, despite internet rumors. Parenting style, psychological trauma, or social environment also do not cause autism. These outdated theories, such as the “refrigerator mother” myth, have been soundly disproven. Autism is best understood as a natural variation in human neurodevelopment, not the result of medical malpractice, bad parenting, or consumer products.

How Many People Are Autistic?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 1 in 36 children in the United States are diagnosed with autism. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that roughly 1 in 100 people worldwide are autistic. These numbers highlight that tens of millions of people encounter designed systems, apps, websites, consumer electronics, and IoT devices every day, and many face barriers that neurotypical users do not even notice.

The Problem with Current UX Patterns

Contemporary UX design patterns that may only be annoying for neuronormative users are often strongly triggering or stressful for neurodivergent users. Sensory overload is common: auto-playing videos, flashing carousels, and incessant device notifications can overwhelm users with heightened sensory sensitivities. Many interfaces rely on unpredictable or inconsistent navigation, buttons that move after updates, hidden features, or icons without labels, which erode the sense of stability that autistic users depend on.

Information-dense dashboards, infinite scroll feeds, and endless notifications strain executive function, making it more challenging to filter out what matters. Dark patterns such as manipulative consent flows or gamified pressure tactics exploit vulnerabilities in decision-making. Social features like “seen” receipts, real-time typing indicators, or mandatory camera interactions can heighten social anxiety and remove a user’s sense of agency.

Designing inclusively for autistic and other neurodivergent users means shifting away from the idea of “average users.” Instead, designers should assume a diversity of needs and build in flexibility. Key design principles include:

• Predictability: Keep navigation, layouts, and workflows consistent. Avoid sudden UI changes after updates.
• Clarity: Use literal, unambiguous language and label all icons. Avoid sarcasm, jargon, or “mystery meat” navigation.
• Sensory control: Allow users to toggle animations, sounds, and haptics. Avoid auto-playing media.
• Cognitive load management: Chunk information into digestible sections and provide filtering options.
• Customization: Give users control over notifications, layouts, and interaction modes.
• Social safety: Make features like read receipts or typing indicators optional. Avoid coercive gamification.
• Accessibility-first: Include neurodiverse users in testing and design from the outset. Accessibility should not be an afterthought.

The ASD-Friendly UX Heuristic Model

To help evaluate and improve digital products, I developed the ASD-Friendly UX Heuristic Model, a structured tool for assessing and enhancing the user experience of digital interfaces. The model emerged from my own lived experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder, combined with years of professional practice in UX and interaction design.

I began by mapping the typical struggles that people with ASD often encounter, such as sensory overload, difficulty with unpredictable systems, challenges in filtering information, and heightened anxiety around ambiguous or coercive social cues, onto the most common patterns found in contemporary digital products. By examining these intersections, I identified recurring points of friction where design practices, often optimized for engagement or aesthetics, directly clash with the needs of neurodivergent users.

From this mapping exercise, I distilled the findings into seven core criteria that capture the critical dimensions of accessibility for autistic users: predictability and consistency, clarity of communication, sensory load management, cognitive load and information density, control and customization, social pressure and interaction design, and accessibility and inclusion. Each criterion addresses a distinct but interconnected area where design choices can either support or undermine usability for people with ASD.

Framing these as a heuristic model provides designers with a practical, repeatable method for evaluation, using a five-point Likert scale to rate how well a product meets each standard. This approach not only makes the needs of autistic users more visible in the design process but also provides a framework that benefits all users by promoting more transparent, predictable, and empowering digital experiences.

1. Predictability & Consistency

Question: How consistent and predictable are the interface’s navigation, layout, and interactions?

• 1: Highly inconsistent; frequent changes in layout, navigation, or controls.
• 3: Somewhat consistent, but some unpredictable behaviors.
• 5: Fully consistent; users can rely on stable, predictable patterns.

2. Clarity of Communication

Question: How clear and explicit is the language, labeling, and feedback?

• 1: Uses ambiguous icons, jargon, sarcasm, or hidden meanings.
• 3: Language is partly clear but with some ambiguous or unexplained elements.
• 5: Always clear, direct, and literal; no ambiguity or hidden cues.

3. Sensory Load Management

Question: How well does the design avoid sensory overload (visual, auditory, haptic)?

• 1: Auto-playing videos, flashing visuals, loud alerts; no sensory controls.
• 3: Some sensory controls but default settings may be overwhelming.
• 5: Minimal sensory overload; full user control over animation, sound, haptics.

4. Cognitive Load & Information Density

Question: How easy is it to process information without becoming overwhelmed?

• 1: Dense dashboards, infinite scroll, excessive notifications.
• 3: Moderate information density with some filtering or grouping.
• 5: Information is chunked, prioritized, and easily filterable.

5. Control & Customization

Question: To what extent can users customize notifications, layouts, or interaction modes?

• 1: No customization; forced flows and settings.
• 3: Some customization, but limited or hard to access.
• 5: High customization; users control sensory input, pace, and interaction.

6. Social Pressure & Interaction Design

Question: Does the system minimize unnecessary social stress or forced engagement?

• 1: Heavy reliance on real-time responses, public metrics, or forced sharing.
• 3: Some pressure (e.g., typing indicators, “seen” receipts), but optional.
• 5: No coercive social features; users control disclosure, visibility, and pace.

7. Accessibility & Inclusion

Question: How well does the design integrate neurodiverse accessibility from the start?

• 1: No accessibility features; design excludes neurodiverse needs.
• 3: Some accessibility options added after the fact.
• 5: Accessibility integrated from conception, with neurodiverse input and testing.

Scoring & Interpretation:

• 30–35 (Excellent): Highly ASD-friendly design.
• 22–29 (Good): Usable with some challenges; needs improvement in certain areas.
• 15–21 (Fair): Usable only with difficulty; significant stressors present.
• 7–14 (Poor): Likely to cause frequent overload, frustration, or exclusion.

Design teams can use this model by scoring each criterion from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent). A product that scores 30 or above is highly ASD-friendly, while scores below 20 indicate significant barriers. This evaluation can be applied at multiple stages of design: during concept development, usability testing, and post-launch reviews. Crucially, these evaluations should involve autistic users themselves, whose lived experiences are invaluable in identifying what works and what does not.

Toward a More Inclusive Digital World

As the population of autistic users continues to grow, designing for them is not a niche concern but a matter of universal accessibility. Good design for neurodiverse users is often good design for everyone: interfaces and interactions that are predictable, clear, and empowering. By adopting heuristic models and consciously addressing the needs of autistic users, UX designers can build digital environments that respect human differences, reduce exclusion, and unlock the full potential of millions of people worldwide.

References

Baron-Cohen, Simon. The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention. New York: Basic Books, 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder. Last reviewed May 27, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/

Dale Cruse and Denis Boudreau, Inclusive Design for Accessibility: A Practical Guide to Digital Accessibility, UX, and Inclusive Web and App Design. Birmingham, UK: Packt Publishing, 2025.

World Health Organization. Autism. Fact Sheet. September 17, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/autism-spectrum-disorders