The Stimpunks design framework is a system for understanding and designing environments that support neurodivergent lives.

It combines insights from:

• neurodiversity
• monotropism
• ecological thinking
• disability justice
• relational philosophy
• design practice

Rather than focusing on individual deficits, the framework examines how attention, energy, environments, and social systems interact.

When these systems align, neurodivergent people can thrive.

When they conflict, the result is often overload, masking, and burnout.

The framework provides tools for understanding these systems and redesigning them.

The Structure of the Framework

The framework operates across several interconnected layers.

Each layer builds on the one beneath it.

Ecology

The ecological layer explains how neurodivergent experience emerges through relationships between bodies, environments, and social systems.

Key pages:

• The Ecology of Neurodivergent Life
• Assemblages, Ecologies, and Neurodivergent Life
• The Ecology of Neurodivergent Attention
• The Ecology of Neurodivergent Energy
• The Ecology of Neurodivergent Burnout
• The Ecology of Neurodivergent Environments

These pages explain how neurodivergent systems interact.

Field Models

Field models map the forces that shape neurodivergent experience.

Key pages:

• The Neurodivergent Design Field Model
• The Neurodivergent Design System Diagram

These models visualize the interactions between:

• attention
• sensory input
• energy
• environments
• social expectations

Theory

The theoretical layer explains the intellectual foundations of neurodivergent design.

Key pages:

• Theoretical Foundations of Neurodivergent Design
• Neurodivergent Design as an Emerging Design Science
• Neurodivergent Design as a Paradigm Shift

These pages explore how neurodivergent design connects to:

• ecology
• philosophy
• systems thinking
• disability studies

Methodology

The methodology layer translates theory into practice.

Key pages:

• The Neurodivergent Design Methodology
• The Neurodivergent Design Playbook

These tools help designers identify:

• environmental friction
• sensory overload
• attention disruptions
• participation barriers

The Design System

The Stimpunks design system organizes design knowledge into reusable components.

Key pages:

• The Stimpunks Design System
• Stimpunks Design Documentation
• The Stimpunks Quickstart Guide

These resources help people apply the framework in real-world settings.

Pattern Language

The framework also includes a pattern language for neurodivergent environments.

Patterns describe recurring structures of neurodivergent life.

Examples include:

• Monotropism
• Deep Attention
• Context Switching Cost
• Energy Accounting
• Environment Fit

Patterns explain how neurodivergent systems behave.

Design Recipes

Recipes translate patterns into practical design actions.

Examples include:

• Designing Attention Sanctuaries
• Designing Flexible Participation
• Designing Regulation Spaces
• Designing Recovery Cycles

Recipes help practitioners implement patterns in specific environments.

Environments

The framework ultimately focuses on designing real environments.

Examples include:

• Neurodivergent Homes
• Neurodivergent Workplaces
• Neurodivergent Classrooms
• Neurodivergent Cities

Each environment explores how neurodivergent design principles can reshape everyday spaces.

From Accessibility to World-Building

Traditional accessibility focuses on adapting environments to accommodate disabled individuals.

Neurodivergent design goes further.

It asks how environments can be designed from the start to expect cognitive diversity.

This shift transforms accessibility from a reactive adjustment into a proactive design philosophy.

Neurodivergent Civilization
↑
Environments
Homes • Workplaces • Classrooms • Cities
↑
Design Recipes
Practical strategies for designing environments
↑
Pattern Language
Recurring structures of neurodivergent life
↑
Design System
Tools, documentation, and implementation
↑
Methodology
Processes for identifying and reducing friction
↑
Field Models
Visual maps of attention, energy, and environment
↑
Ecology
The relational systems shaping neurodivergent experience

UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMS                    DESIGNING SYSTEMS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Ecology                                  Environments
The relational systems                   Real places built
of neurodivergent life                   for neurodivergent life
Assemblages                              Homes
Attention Ecology                        Workplaces
Energy Ecology                           Classrooms
Burnout Ecology                          Cities
Field Models                             Design Recipes
Maps of how systems                      Practical ways to
interact and generate friction           implement patterns
Field Model                              Attention Sanctuaries
Friction Diagram                         Flexible Participation
System Diagrams                          Regulation Spaces
                                         Sensory-Safe Environments
Theory                                   Pattern Language
The conceptual foundations               Reusable structures
of neurodivergent design                 of neurodivergent life
Design Science                           Monotropism
Paradigm Shift                           Context Switching Cost
Relational Ecology                       Energy Accounting
                                         Environment Fit

                         NEURODIVERGENT CIVILIZATION
                                     ▲
                                     │
                     Cities • Institutions • Culture
                                     ▲
                                     │
                                ENVIRONMENTS
          Homes • Workplaces • Classrooms • Studios • Community Spaces
                                     ▲
                                     │
                               DESIGN RECIPES
      Attention Sanctuaries • Flexible Participation • Regulation Spaces
                                     ▲
                                     │
                              PATTERN LANGUAGE
 Monotropism • Deep Attention • Energy Accounting • Environment Fit
                                     ▲
                                     │
                                ECOLOGIES
      Attention Ecology • Energy Ecology • Burnout Ecology • Social Ecology
                                     ▲
                                     │
                               ASSEMBLAGES
        Bodies • Attention • Environments • Relationships • Meaning

Toward a Neurodivergent Civilization

When applied broadly, neurodivergent design can reshape institutions, infrastructures, and communities.

This broader vision is explored in:

• Designing a Neurodivergent Civilization
• The Neurodivergent Civilization Atlas
• The Future of Neurodivergent Civilization

The goal is not only to support neurodivergent people.

It is to design a world that recognizes cognitive diversity as a fundamental feature of human life.