Innovating in Order to Include, Including in Order to Innovate
Alessandro Antonietti, Cristina Panisi, Elena Ramella, Roberta Sala
A complex body of psychological research indicates that certain critical conditions for social inclusion — such as those characterised by neurodiversity — are associated with high levels of creativity. Hence, why not make the most of the creative potential of neurodiverse people to devise innovative inclusion interventions? Inclusion is usually conceived by external agents, but who better than those who personally experience conditions of disability to know their needs? If this direct experience is accompanied, as in the case of neurodiversity, by a propensity for divergent thinking and imagining alternative situations to the current ones, new ideas can come from the very recipients of inclusion actions. The paper describes a model that identifies ways in which the creative potential of neurodiverse people at risk of exclusion can be recognised and enhanced. Tools and strategies are suggested for involving these categories of citizens in participatory processes of co-construction of innovative solutions to the obstacles and challenges they face.
Keywords
Creativity, Innovation, Co-designing, Neurodiversity, Autism.
