Andrea Eiland
Research Mentor: Kathleen Ignatoski
Mentor Department: University of Michigan, Medicine
Author(s): Andréa Eiland, Kathleen Ignatoski, Sandy Zalmout
Session: Session 1 (9:00 AM – 9:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 36
Abstract
Interviews play an important role in both academic and professional opportunities in our current world, yet most interview practices are built around neurotypical communication normalities. This can lead to frequent misunderstandings of some neurodivergent students’ responses, behaviors, and communication styles. As a result, neurodivergent individuals are often evaluated through frameworks that do not capture their strengths or intentions. Our project aims to address this gap by centering neurodivergent perspectives in the interview process. Conducted through the UM Neurodiversity Project under the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, this study uses qualitative, in-person interviews with neurodivergent participants to better understand how interviews are experienced and interpreted. Participants take part in 20-30 minute conversational interviews in which they discuss what interviews typically feel like, which aspects are more accessible or challenging, how they interpret common interview questions and what they wish that interviewers better understood. Participants are also asked a small number of standard-style interview questions, not as an evaluation but as a way to observe communication styles in context. All participation is voluntary and responses are kept completely anonymous. The analysis of these interviews focuses on identifying recurring themes in communication, comfort, and interpretation. These findings will then be used to better-inform the development of an interactive interview-training simulation for mentors, designed to increase awareness of neurodivergent communication patterns and reduce misinterpretation during student interviews. By prioritizing lived experience over assumptions, this project contributes to more inclusive mentoring practices and supports a broader rethinking of how interviews assess student potential.
