Track 4 (Phase II): The Autism Self-advocacy Center for Equity and Neurodiversity in Engineering (The A-SCENE)

About This Grant

Neurodiversity is an emerging paradigm through which neurological differences, traditionally viewed only in terms of disability -- autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia -- are instead viewed as human variations having associated impairments but also unique strengths highly relevant to STEM. Yet this group, now representing at least 20% of the US population, does not sufficiently participate in the STEM workforce: recent work suggests that only 11% of STEM undergraduates are neurodiverse, and a 2021 NSF report suggests that only 4.4% of all STEM PhD recipients are neurodiverse. Growing research evidence suggests enhanced abilities and skills in neurodiverse learners highly relevant to the engineering workforce. Examples include enhanced divergent thinking in ADHD, success in competitive colleges for autistic students, and enhanced cognitive and socio-emotional resilience, visuo-spatial ability, and emotional reactivity with corresponding neural differences in dyslexia. This project will address the opportunity to more fully enable this underutilized workforce by standing up a new Center called The Autism Self-advocacy Center for Equity and Neurodiversity in Engineering (A-SCENE). The project’s vision is to model a fully interconnected system of programs, activities, and supports to ensure that neurodiverse students can access and succeed in engineering careers, from the undergraduate experience, to graduate training and professional development, to meaningful engagement in the STEM workforce. The Center will pilot and innovate its signature programs among the initial partner universities (Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, University of Connecticut, and Northeastern University), develop an Engineering Neurodiversity Playbook for adoption of the A-SCENE model by any Engineering school, and then systematically expand through a long-term sustainable Affiliate Universities program, with the goal to eventually reach all engineering schools in the nation. The A-SCENE Phase II effort builds on the unique strengths of the core university partners, bringing together extant efforts including Vanderbilt’s Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, the Fisk-Vanderbilt 3+2 program in engineering, Fisk’s Institute for Neurodiversity & Intersectionality, UConn’s Neurodiversity Teaching Institute, Northeastern’s signature Co-op program, and the national College Autism Network, itself representing more than 125 college and university members. Arizona State and University of Illinois join as A-SCENE’s inaugural affiliate partners, extending our geographical reach and diversity of students. A-SCENE will reach a large community of neurodiverse individuals at the partner institutions as well as much more broadly through dissemination of the model and playbook nationally. During this Phase II effort, A-SCENE will establish mechanisms for long-term continuity and growth of A-SCENE nationally by: (a) curating the Engineering Neurodiversity Playbook, including curricula, guides, rubrics, and other materials as a living online resource; (b) expanding the affiliates program through membership fees to support ongoing growth of the A-SCENE network; (c) creation of a national student organization -- the Society of Neurodiverse Engineers -- with local chapters and national activities supported through dues; (d) exploring a fee structure for access to trainings for student-support professionals and access to employer education services; and (e) exploring a licensing fee structure for use of A-SCENE’s internship- and job-matching tool. We will continually engage additional affiliate partner institutions, which will further amplify the direct impact of this effort. At the largest scale, engineering undergraduate and graduate students nationwide now number more than 700,000, of whom ~77,000 are expected to be neurodiverse. To be sure, these estimates are projections beyond this Phase II effort, but they suggest that the potential for broad impact on the neurodiverse population in engineering is large. Finally, dissemination of the A-SCENE Engineering Neurodiversity Playbook through INCLUDES, ABET, and other national networks will broaden the impact further still. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.