DAY 1 • TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER • 10:30 – 10:55
Opening Keynote: Neuroinclusive design - passing trend or fundamental shift?
As neuroinclusion rises rapidly up the agenda, is this a passing trend - or a lasting transformation in how we design and experience spaces?
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What neuroinclusive design means in workplace and public environments, and why it matters now
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Examining the scale of impact – how neurodivergent people make up around 1 in 5 (and potentially up to 1 in 3) of the population
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Moving beyond box ticking and hype – recognising this is about people’s lives and the importance of keeping nervous systems in a more balanced, restored state
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How designing for neurodiversity benefits everyone, not just a minority
Professor Amanda Kirby, Emeritus Professor, University of South Wales, Honorary Professor, Cardiff University, Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin, founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions
Professor Amanda Kirby
Amanda is an emeritus professor at the University of South Wales, honorary professor at Cardiff University, and Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
She is the founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions, a globally recognised tech-for-good company specialising in neurodiversity screening and support tools for education and employment. She has developed training resources for professional organisations including CIHT, and the Engineering Council. She has been author of the City and Guilds Neurodiversity Index for the past 4 years.
With more than 35 years of clinical and research experience in neurodiversity, Amanda has authored 10 books and over 100 research papers. Her 2021 book, Neurodiversity at Work, won the EDI Business Book Award. She was the Chair of the ADHD Foundation and has worked closely with several other charities in this sector. She has been a contributor to developing global standards, such as the UK’s BSI’s Design for the Mind guidelines. Amanda’s 11th book on Neurodiversity and Parenting is due out soon..
Amanda is a LinkedIn Top Voice with 158,000+ followers and has a weekly subscriber based to her Neurodiversity 101 newsletter of 165,000+. She has won numerous awards during her career including GP of the Year, Diversity Power List, the HR Most influential Thinkers in 2022; Fellow of City and Guilds Institute in 2025 and in 2026 the Neurodiversity Knowledge-to-Impact Award at the Davos Neurodiversity Summit.
Her passion remains championing neurodivergent talent and creating inclusive workplaces as a parent, grandparent of neurodivergent family members as well as recognising herself as having neurodivergent traits.