My PhD examines how helpful or unhelpful the PAS 6463 ‘Design for the Mind’ recommendations are for autistic people, and whether these same features create barriers for individuals with visual impairments, whose needs often contrast. The project focuses on understanding design preferences through sensory needs rather than diagnosis alone, identifying where recommendations support inclusion and where they may conflict. Using a practical, co-produced approach, autistic people, individuals with visual impairments and architects will shape the development of the questionnaire and the interpretation of findings. The ultimate aim is to provide realistic, evidence-based guidance for sensory-inclusive environments that work for diverse users.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Special Education in Greece, where I trained and worked through placements in both mainstream and special school settings with children with autism, ADHD, learning difficulties, intellectual disabilities and vision impairments. After graduating, I wanted to broaden my experience abroad and spent a year working in an NGO in Poland, supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities in both school and day centre environments.

Motivated by the strong values, awareness, and quality of practice and research in the UK, I moved to study at the Tizard Centre, University of Kent, where I completed my Master’s degree. My dissertation focused on healthcare inequalities among people with intellectual disabilities and evaluated a co-produced training programme for medical students. Alongside my studies, I undertook a clinical placement in the NHS, where I contributed to autism and intellectual disability assessments and provided advice to families and schools. I also completed a service evaluation placement, assessing the quality of care in a residential service for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Since completing my Master’s, I have been working in the UK as a SEN Teaching Assistant with autistic children. My goal has always been to pursue research that improves the lives and rights of people with disabilities, and I am now doing a PhD on inclusive design to contribute practical, evidence-based guidance for creating environments that truly work for diverse sensory needs.