About Us

Who We Are

Inclusion by Design was founded on the principle that the legal minimum should not serve as the benchmark of inclusion. Across industries, organizations have invested heavily in policies, training programs, and accommodation procedures intended to support their workforce. Yet high rates of burnout and unemployment persist among neurodivergent individuals. Established by a late-diagnosed autistic Employee Relations leader and Industrial-Organizational psychology researcher, our work focuses on guiding organizations beyond reactive compliance toward thoughtfully designed neuroinclusive environments. We are a neurodivergent-led team of three working at the intersection of workplace strategy, diversity and inclusion, HR compliance, and advocacy.

Our team brings experience across Employee Relations, DEI practice, organizational research, and community engagement, combining systems-level workplace knowledge with close ties to the neurodivergent community. As practitioners and researchers, we understand how workplace systems operate in practice and how policy, leadership, and culture shape the everyday work experiences of neurodivergent individuals. We bring both professional expertise and lived experience to this work, recognizing neurodiversity as a present and growing reality within the workforce that requires intentional design.

What We Do

Our Core Methodology: The S.A.F.E. Score Framework™

Central to our work is the S.A.F.E. Score Framework™, a proprietary methodology for evaluating how workplace systems function in practice for neurodivergent employees. The framework examines how policies, leadership decisions, and organizational culture shape employee experiences, and turns those findings into a clear roadmap for structural change. Organizations that complete the engagement can earn the S.A.F.E. Score Certified Employer™ designation.

Inclusion by Design works on two levels at once: the workplace systems organizations rely on, and the people who navigate them. For organizations and leaders, we evaluate how workplace systems function in practice for neurodivergent employees and guide structural change. This includes the S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ engagement and the S.A.F.E. Score Certified Employer™ designation; targeted reviews of recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and learning and development; the Predictive Impact Assessment™ to support the ADA interactive process; the S.A.F.E. Sensory Audit; employee relations and compliance advisory; and leadership training and workshops. For neurodivergent individuals and communities, we provide tools and support for navigating workplace systems as they currently exist, including disclosure and accommodation strategy, workplace navigation and job seeker support, psychological safety and risk awareness, speaking and community education, and The Disclosure Workbook. Together, these services move organizations beyond reactive compliance while giving neurodivergent individuals practical support.