Designing for Neurodivergent Users Beyond ADHD
By Maksym Bardakh · Co-founder & President
In short
Neurodivergence is broad, and designing for it means more than supporting attention differences. Autistic users, dyslexic users, and others have varied and sometimes conflicting needs around predictability, sensory input, and text. The reliable approach is flexibility: predictable behavior, control over stimulation, accommodating typography, and respect for system accessibility settings, so each user can shape the experience to fit them.
Neurodivergence is not one thing
Conversations about designing for neurodivergent users often focus on attention differences, which matter, but they are only part of a much wider picture. Neurodivergence includes autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and more, and the needs that come with them vary widely and can even conflict. A design choice that helps one group may hinder another, which is why a single fixed experience cannot serve everyone.
The consequence is that flexibility, rather than a one-size-fits-all ideal interface, is the core principle. The aim is to let users adapt the experience to their own needs rather than to guess at one configuration that suits all of them.
Predictability and control
Many neurodivergent users, particularly autistic users, are served by predictability. An interface that behaves consistently, where the same action always produces the same result and nothing changes unexpectedly, reduces the cognitive and emotional cost of using it. Unannounced changes, surprising animations, and inconsistent patterns impose a load that predictability removes.
- Behave consistently, so the same action reliably produces the same outcome.
- Avoid sudden, unexpected changes in layout or behavior.
- Give the user control over the pace and flow rather than forcing transitions on them.
Sensory and reading considerations
Sensory input is a significant factor. Strong motion, autoplaying content, and intense color can be uncomfortable or overwhelming for some users, while others are unaffected. Reading needs vary too: dyslexic users are often helped by generous spacing, clear typography, and the ability to adjust text, and harmed by cramped or low-contrast text.
Flexibility over a single ideal
Because needs differ and conflict, the most inclusive design is one that bends. Respecting the system-level accessibility settings the platform already provides, such as reduced motion, larger text, and increased contrast, means a user who has configured their device gets a consistent accommodation across apps without extra effort. Building on these settings is far more effective than ignoring them and inventing app-specific controls.
The broader stance is humility about what any one user needs. Rather than designing the perfect interface for an imagined neurodivergent user, design an interface that can be shaped, predictable by default, calm by default, adjustable where it matters, and aligned with the platform’s accessibility mechanisms. Flexibility is what lets a single product serve a population whose needs genuinely vary.
Key takeaways
- Neurodivergence is broad and its needs vary and sometimes conflict, so no single interface fits all.
- Predictability and consistent behavior reduce load for many neurodivergent users.
- Avoid sudden changes and give users control over pace and transitions.
- Offer control over motion, color, and text so users can tune sensory and reading comfort.
- Respect system accessibility settings so accommodations carry across apps consistently.
Frequently asked questions
- Is designing for neurodivergence just about attention?
- No. It spans autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and more, with varied and sometimes conflicting needs around predictability, sensory input, and text, so it requires flexibility rather than one fixed approach.
- Why does predictability help neurodivergent users?
- Because consistent behavior, where the same action always produces the same result and nothing changes unexpectedly, reduces the cognitive and emotional cost of using the interface, which particularly helps many autistic users.
- How do I support a range of conflicting needs?
- By building flexibility: predictable and calm defaults, adjustable motion, text, and contrast, and respect for the platform’s system accessibility settings so each user can shape the experience.
References
About the author
Maksym Bardakh
Co-founder & President
Maksym is a software engineer and product strategist focused on executive-function and behavioral system design. At BBMM he leads product direction across Flowo, TextPack, and Pillow, working at the intersection of human cognition and durable interface design.