Stimpunks Foundation

Mutual Aid and Human-Centered Learning for Neurodivergent and Disabled People

The Neurodivergent Design Standard

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Home/The Neurodivergent Design Standard

▶ Table of Contents

  1. The Core Model
  2. What the Standard Includes
    1. Principles
    2. Patterns
    3. Recipes
    4. Diagnostics
    5. Environments
  3. The Broader Framework
  4. What This Standard Is For
  5. The Goal

The Neurodivergent Design Standard describes how environments can be built to support the diversity of human minds.

It brings together the core parts of the Stimpunks framework into a portable system for designing classrooms, workplaces, meetings, communities, and institutions.

The Neurodivergent Design Standard describes how environments can be built to support the diversity of human minds.

It integrates the Stimpunks principles, pattern language, diagnostics, and design practices into a coherent framework.

The Core Model

Experience
↓
Pattern
↓
Design
↓
Environment
↓
System

Stimpunks turns lived experience into patterns, patterns into design strategies, and design strategies into better environments and systems.

What the Standard Includes

Principles

The principles define the values that guide neurodivergent design.

Patterns

The pattern language identifies recurring structures that shape neurodivergent experience.

Recipes

Recipes combine patterns into practical design strategies.

Diagnostics

Diagnostics help evaluate whether environments support neurodivergent needs.

Environments

Environment pages show how the framework can shape real spaces and practices.

The Broader Framework

The Neurodivergent Design Standard sits within the broader Stimpunks framework.

What This Standard Is For

This standard is for anyone designing environments that affect neurodivergent people:

  • educators
  • school leaders
  • workplace designers
  • managers and facilitators
  • community organizers
  • designers and researchers
  • disabled-led teams and advocates

It can be used to evaluate existing environments, design new ones, and build shared language across teams.

The Goal

The goal of the Neurodivergent Design Standard is simple:

Build environments where more kinds of minds can thrive.

When environments support neurological diversity, people no longer need to spend their energy fighting the systems around them.

This is how better design becomes better participation, better participation becomes better environments, and better environments become systems change.

The Stimpunks System

This diagram shows how the major parts of the Stimpunks framework fit together.

Canon
Worldview and core ideas
↓
Stack
Framework architecture
↓
Principles
Design values
↓
Patterns
Recurring structures of neurodivergent life
↓
Recipes
Design strategies
↓
Environments
Classrooms · workplaces · communities
↓
Systems Change
Institutions that support neurological diversity

Stimpunks connects lived experience, design knowledge, and systems change into a single framework for building environments that support neurological diversity.