workshop @ 1350

Making Museums Accessible for Autistic and Neurodivergent Audiences: Research Summary and Workshop

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition within the museum sector – and wider society – that more needs to be done to ensure the needs of autistic and neurodivergent people are met. Museums - as spaces full of objects often carefully curated into specific themes - have the potential to be excellent spaces for neurodivergent people to escape to, yet many are not yet reaching this audience. This workshop, as part of my PhD research, is about supporting the museum sector to overcome the barriers to making their museums more accessible to neurodivergent visitors, and potentially many others whom would benefit from changes.

This workshop intends to be an opportunity to share some preliminary findings from the surveys for neurodivergent adults and the museum workforce that took place between September 2022 and February 2023. At the time of closing, the survey for autistic and neurodivergent adults had over 460 responses and 130 responses from the museum workforce. I intend to share some key patterns and seek feedback from workshop attendees that can help to shape future phases to this research, including a toolkit/guidance tool for the sector, and with the intention of starting conversations about what is currently being done, what could be done and ways that we – as a sector –can enhance our accessibility to traditionally under-served audiences.

Speakers Bio

Aimee Fletcher, University of Glasgow, PhD Researcher

Aimee Fletcher is a current PhD Researcher at the University of Glasgow, researching ways to make the museum and cultural heritage sector more accessible to autistic and neurodivergent people. As
an autistic woman herself, Aimee is committed to research and work practices that actively involve – and are led by – communities, for this reason she uses emancipatory and participatory approaches in her research. This research project continues the work started during her Museum Studies MSc (University of Glasgow). During her studies, Aimee created The Hunterian’s pre-visit information, online accessibility information, sensory bags for visitors and she organised The Hunterian’s first family event for autistic young people in July 2019. She has since consulted on different projects to enhance accessibility within the sector.

Her research draws from extensive personal and professional experience in autism accessibility. For 6 years, Aimee worked for an autism charity, taking a diverse group of 15 young people (ages 5-18) on trips to museums and other public spaces. She witnessed first-hand how the museum environment and content can impact the experience of autistic visitors.

Beyond the museum sector and academia, Aimee has worked with the National Autistic Society as part of their Evidence and Research team as an Information Analyst.