Inclusive Design and Communication

An Analysis of Challenges Based on Accounts from Autistic Adults

Abstract

Social interactions are influenced by communication practices that reproduce normative patterns that are insensitive to cognitive diversity, generating exclusions that affect well-being, especially for people on the autism spectrum. Although this condition is widely studied, research considering the experiences narrated by adults, particularly in everyday interactions, is scarce. This article proposes a critical reflection on Inclusive Design as an ethical and strategic approach in the context of public health and service provision. It sought to analyze the communication experiences in social contexts lived by autistic people and their emotional effects on the well-being of this population. The research is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive, constituting a segment of a doctoral research project that reports the experiences of autistic adults diagnosed with level 1 support. The narratives were collected from an asynchronous online focus group, and the data were subjected to content analysis. The results show that clearer, more predictable, and responsive communication practices for autistic individuals are not merely operational adjustments, but rather structural conditions for reducing barriers, promoting well-being, and strengthening social commitment to inclusion, especially in the fields of public health and social services