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The awarded a $15 million grant to the University of Washington Information School to support the launch of the UW Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment. The new institute will bring together leading scholars and practitioners from various disciplines alongside employers to build the capacity of the UW, Washington state and the nation to create meaningful employment opportunities and career experiences for neurodivergent people.

Neurodivergent adults, such as those on the autism spectrum, or with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, or other cognitive differences, experience significant barriers to inclusion in education and employment due to disabilities that often aren’t obvious. Research shows that remain consistently employed over time, and just are employed, compared to 87% employment among adults without ADHD. Studies suggest that is neurodivergent. Accordingly, efforts to improve the neuroinclusivity of academic institutions and workplaces have significant potential for impact on individuals, families and the U.S. economy.

“The lower education and employment outcomes are largely attributed to education and workplace environments that were designed to reinforce normative expectations,” said Hala Annabi, UW associate professor in the Information School and founding director of the Institute. “When learning and work environments are designed for neurodiversity — and managers and teachers are trained to be neuroinclusive — neurodivergent individuals achieve far better outcomes.”

Annabi is a leading scholar on neurodiversity and employment. Her work in this space includes the publication of a series of Neurodiversity @ Work Playbooks that make a case for hiring neurodivergent people and offer concrete instructions for supporting their growth and career development.

“The Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment is set up to make a significant difference — not just at the University of Washington, but for communities all over our state,” said , executive director of the Canopy Neurodiversity Foundation. “This institute will build on Canopy’s vision for a truly neuroinclusive workforce, dramatically expanding what’s possible in our state.”

Housed in the Information School, the Institute will integrate faculty, research and support from the and the , with additional collaboration from UW Medicine and the School of Social Work.

“The new institute will build upon the outstanding neurodiversity work of Dr. Annabi at the Information School,” said Anind K. Dey, dean of the 911������. “Adding the deep expertise of our cross-campus collaborators, along with Canopy and other community partners, we will create truly multidisciplinary, innovative and impactful solutions that will transform Washington’s education and employment spaces — including here at the UW.”

“At present, research addressing lifespan issues such as employment is happening in silos across various disciplines, limiting our ability to develop comprehensive solutions,” said Annabi. “By convening a broad coalition of partners across the neurodiversity, employment and academic communities, we can move beyond isolated efforts toward innovative, systems-level change — driven by those with lived experience and deep expertise.”

The Institute’s work will focus on five pillars: translational research on neurodiversity and employment, applied professional education and training, community empowerment across Washington state, advocacy efforts to create and strengthen neuroinclusive policies and practices statewide, and direct engagement with UW leadership to make the university a premier destination for neurodivergent faculty, staff, clinicians and students.

Annabi is particularly enthusiastic about the UW’s commitment to ‘walk the talk’ by committing, through the Institute, to neuroinclusive employment practices.

“The UW recognizes that employment is an important component of a person’s quality of life and the equitable distribution of societal resources and power,” said UW .  “As one of the state’s largest employers, we have a vital role to play in modeling ways to increase support for neurodivergent people and break down the persistence of barriers in post-secondary education and the workplace that they face. We are thrilled to channel this work through the Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment.”

The UW Institute for Neurodiversity and Employment will launch activities and programming in 2026.

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For questions, please contact: neurodiversity@uw.edu.