It’s estimated that 10 to 20% of the world’s population is neurodivergent. This can include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, speech disorders, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and Tourette’s syndrome.
It’s inevitable then that some of the participants in our investigations will be neurodivergent.
Just as we use trauma-informed practices to minimize the risk of re-traumatizing interviewees, we can also take steps to create supportive and inclusive environments for interviewees who are neurodivergent. Just as employers have legal obligations to accommodate employees, investigators should also take reasonable measures to accommodate interviewees who are neurodivergent.
Accommodate in your setup
Taking the time to plan an interview that accommodates a neurodivergent participant can have a major impact on the quality and clarity of their evidence. Every interviewee has distinct needs in an interview process, and the best way to learn what someone needs is to ask them. In fact, it’s good practice to ask all your interviewees as you’re scheduling their interview whether there is anything that could help you make the interview process easier for them.
Consider the following practical steps if an interviewee tells you they’re neurodivergent:
- Set up a preliminary call to discuss the interview and investigation process and to ask how you can make it easier for them.
- Offer to schedule the interview over the course of several shorter meetings rather than in one long stretch; an individual with ADHD, for example, may have difficulty concentrating for prolonged periods of time.
- Offer to send the interviewee your questions in advance (where possible); an Autistic interviewee may find it helpful to prepare for questions in a particular manner, for example.
- Create a visual chart to help explain the investigation process step by step.
- Give the interviewee the opportunity to have a support person present during their interview.
- Offer the interviewee a printed copy of documents you might typically share on your screen during a videoconference interview.
- Arrange in-person interviews in spaces free of potential distractions.
An interviewee may tell you about their neurodivergence during an interview. If this happens, and if you have noticed related challenges in the interview process, consider pausing and offering to reschedule the interview so that you can better prepare to accommodate them.
Be flexible during the interview
People receive information and provide evidence in different ways. Some people may give you more information than you need, while others may be reticent to share. Some may need help understanding your questions, and some may experience visible distress during the interview. Be flexible and ready to change your approach depending on the interviewee’s particular needs.
Here are some practices to consider:
- Use inclusive language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and check in to ensure your questions are clear to the interviewee.
- Strategies if an interviewee experiences visible distress:
- Stay with them and calmly ask if they can tell you what they need.
- Tell them what you’ll do if they continue to experience distress; be ready to call for outside help.
- If an interviewee is “oversharing,” redirect them back to the issues at hand. Suggest a break or schedule a follow-up interview to refocus the conversation.
- If an interviewee is reticent to provide information, ask if there is anything they don’t understand about the interview process and how you could help them be more comfortable.
- Offer interviewees additional time to read documents or articulate their thoughts, if needed.
Some of these accommodations may initially seem at odds with our usual practice as investigators; we don’t typically give interviewees our questions for a variety of reasons, and there are many circumstances in which this would not be appropriate, but when we take reasonable steps to be accommodating, we can both minimize stress and improve the quality of our investigation.
The Effectiveness of Empathy
An investigator’s goal is to collect the best evidence and conducting effective interviews is key to this process. It’s important to build rapport and create an environment in which interviewees are willing to share their information and inclusive practices can have a particularly positive impact when interviewing individuals who are neurodivergent.
