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Autism through talent
AUTISMT HROUGHTALENT
Autism Through Talent follows a clear par ticipant-led development cycle
from par ticipant selection t hrough exhibition and evaluation.
from par ticipant selection t hrough exhibition and evaluation.
Project Methodology
WHAT WE DO?
05
Portrait / art
creation
creation
04
First-person
narrative
development
narrative
development
03
Participant
identifies what
they want
represented
identifies what
they want
represented
02
Accessible
story-development
interview
story-development
interview
01
Participant
selection
selection
10
Learning
incorporated into
the next exhibition
incorporated into
the next exhibition
09
Evaluation
08
Audience
reflection and
participation
reflection and
participation
07
Exhibition
presentation
presentation
06
Participant
review and
approval
review and
approval
participant Agency Protocol
The participant decides which parts of their life they want to discuss and what they want to keep private.
CHOICE
The team may edit material for clarity, length and exhibition format, but does not change the intended meaning of the participant’s story.
CO-DEVELOPMENT
Communication is adapted to the individual: spoken inter view, written answers, AAC, additional processing time, and a caregiver or support person where appropriate and desired.
ACCESSIBILITY
The participant sees the final text and can correct anything they believe is inaccurate or does not reflect their experience.
REVIEW AND CORRECTION
The participant has meaningful influence over how they are represented photographically or visually.
VISUAL AGENCY
The final version of the story and image is agreed with the participant before public presentation.
FINAL APPROVAL
Consent is treated as an ongoing process rather than a one-time signature on a release form.
ONGOING CONSENT
HOW WE DO IT ?
The Participant Agency Protocol applies across the project cycle above. It defines the minimum standards for
how autistic participants are involved in developing and approving their public representation.
how autistic participants are involved in developing and approving their public representation.
These principles turn participant agency from a statement of intent into a repeatable project procedure.
WHAT WE SHOW?
Each story should aim to answer more than one question: “What is this person talented at?” The editorial framework is designed to show the person in context not only achievement, but difficulty, strength, support, possibility and what remains difficult.
WHAT DO I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT ME?
The participant’s own message to the audience.
WHAT IS STILL DIFFICULT TODAY?
Challenges that remain; the story does not end with achievement.
WHAT BECAME POSSIBLE?
What changed, developed or became achievable.
WHAT OR WHO HELPED?
People, support, accommodations, opportunities or environments that made a meaningful difference
WHAT ARE MY STRENGTHS / INTERESTS?
Abilities, interests, talents or ways of engaging with the world.
WHAT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT?
Barriers, challenges or experiences the participant chooses to make visible.
WHO AM I?
Identity, life context and what matters to the participant.
They are an editorial framework used in developing each story. The participant decides which questions are relevant and how much they want to share.
The visitor journey is designed as a sequence of encounters, reflection and participation.
HOW THE VISITOR MOVES THROUGH THE EXHIBITION?
04
A prompt asks the visitor to examine their initial assumptions.
REFLECT
05
Reflection wall, digital response or guided discussion.
RESPOND
06
The visitor’s response becomes part of the evolving exhibition conversation.
CONTRIBUTE
02
First-person story adds information that was not visible.
DISCOVER
Portrait creates an immediate first impression.
01
See
03
Visitor encounters complexity: strength + difficulty + support + individuality.
RECONSIDER
01
Visitors leave with a more complex and less stereotyped understanding of autistic lives.
PRIMARY AUDIENCE OBJECTIVE
02
Visitors recognize greater diversity among autistic people.
UNDERSTANDING
03
Visitors reconsider specific assumptions about ability, communication, independence and talent.
STEREOTYPES
04
Visitors recognize that outcomes are influenced not only by individual traits, but also by support, opportunity and environment.
CONTEXT
05
Visitors encounter autistic people as individuals with agency rather than as diagnostic examples.
PERSPECTIVE
06
Support greater acceptance and lower social distance, with evaluation measuring the direction and extent of change.
ACCEPTANCE / SOCIAL DISTANCE
WHAT ARE OUR GOALS FOR THE AUDIENCE?
RESEARCH & EVALUATION
Our engagement model builds on existing practice from the University of Liverpool’s Liverpool Autism Hub,
where a dedicated reflection space generated meaningful qualitative responses from neurodivergent visitors
and the wider community.
Autism Through Talent will build on this approach by combining visitor reflection with a structured evaluation
framework developed with companies like NJACE, allowing us to examine not only whether people engage,
but what they take away from the exhibition and whether particular perceptions of autism shift.
where a dedicated reflection space generated meaningful qualitative responses from neurodivergent visitors
and the wider community.
Autism Through Talent will build on this approach by combining visitor reflection with a structured evaluation
framework developed with companies like NJACE, allowing us to examine not only whether people engage,
but what they take away from the exhibition and whether particular perceptions of autism shift.
Stakeholder
Autistic participants
Evoautism
Artist / photographer
Host institution
Research partner
Autism / community partners
Families / support people
Visitors
Funders
Role
Co-authors / lived-experience experts
Project development, production, safeguarding,coordination
Visual interpretation developed with participants
Exhibition context, audience access, programming
Evaluation design and analysis
Community knowledge, recruitment / advisory support
Participate where appropriate and desired by the participant
Audience + active reflection participants
Enable production, accessibility and evaluation
WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS?
The methodology is delivered through an ecosystem of participants, institutions and partners, with each stakeholder holding a distinct role.
