6th International Neurodiversity & the Built Environment Symposium: Building Empathy

Marking its sixth year, the International Neurodiversity & the Built Environment Symposium explores how design can honor diverse sensory, cognitive, and relational experiences. This year's theme, Building Empathy, invites cross-disciplinary practitioners, researchers, artists, and self-advocates to rethink how environments can support dignity, agency, and belonging. The symposium examines how empathetic, art-informed approaches can move beyond accommodation toward more caring, collaborative, and human-centered futures.

This year builds on the momentum of our previous symposia—FALL 2020: Building Community & Rethinking the Built Environment, FALL 2021: Immersive Experiences, FALL 2022: PlaceMaking, SPRING 2024: Intentional Connections, and SPRING 2025: Interdependence in Action. Together, these cross-disciplinary gatherings foster international dialogue among neurodivergent individuals, communities, advocacy groups, and professionals across design, health, art, and technology.

Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST
Format: Hybrid. In-person at Thomas Jefferson University (East Falls Campus, DEC Center, 2nd Floor, Rooms 211/212) and Virtual (Zoom webinar)
Cost: Free — registration below.

Will you be attending the symposium in person or virtually?

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Jefferson Faculty, Staff and Students, register with your Campus Key:

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External Registrants, enter your name and email address:

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Presented by the Synesthetic Research and Design Lab, College of Architecture & the Built Environment, in collaboration with the Jefferson Health Center for Autism and Neurodiversity.