"Support for people with developmental disabilities to demonstrate their abilities in the workplaceThe " project aims to create an environment where the diversity of people with developmental disorders (neurodevelopmental disorders) is recognized and everyone can excel in their areas of expertise.
As part of the project, four project members participated in the 33rd Japan Society for Occupational Stress Research, held at the Kitakyushu International Conference Center on November 28th and 29th, 2025, and presented their research results. The Japan Society for Occupational Stress Research is a leading academic society in the fields of occupational health and mental health. The theme of the 2025 conference was "Psychology, Biology, Technology: The Intersection of Research and Practice on Occupational Stress," and diverse perspectives on occupational health and well-being were presented.
In this article, we will introduce the research presented and then share the findings gained from the conference as a whole.
Interim research report: "Ability development for people with neurodevelopmental disorders in the advanced IT field: Preliminary study toward improving the environment (Kyoto University/Yoshimura Sayaka)"
This project aims to create an environment where people with neurodevelopmental disorders can easily demonstrate their abilities in the advanced IT field, and is conducting research to verify the compatibility between individual characteristics and work environments. In this presentation, the interim progress of this research was reported.
In this study, we created a visual search task that reflects the skills required in IT work, and had participants perform the task of finding specific information among multiple stimuli. We are examining how performance differs depending on whether or not participants have autism spectrum disorder characteristics under several task situations. Our current analysis shows that participants with autism spectrum disorder characteristics:
Differences in work conditions can have a big impact on performance
・Once the method is established, there is a possibility that you will be able to demonstrate your abilities stably.
Such a trend is beginning to emerge.
The venue was packed with participants exceeding capacity on the day, and it seemed there was a great deal of interest in ways of working that make the most of the abilities of people with neurodevelopmental disorders. During the question and answer session, questions related to practical matters such as "What kind of work in the IT field is most likely to lead to the full use of abilities?" were raised. The session reflected interest in improving the work environment in the workplace and expectations for this research.
Findings from across the academic community: The importance of social environments and institutions
Throughout the conference, there was a lively exchange of opinions with researchers and business people in the fields of occupational health and mental health. The program as a whole presented a variety of perspectives, including the latest findings in occupational health, the use of digital transformation, the outlook for stress check systems, the relationship between biological rhythms and mental health, improving well-being and human capital value, and the basics of research methodology.
In this context, we have come to realize that the difficulties people with neurodevelopmental disorders face in the workplace may be significantly influenced by the social environment and systems surrounding them.
・Symposiums related to neurodevelopmental disorders
・Symposium on the latest research on sleep, biological rhythms and mental health
These sessions provided many insights into the current state of occupational health in Japan, and these insights were extremely helpful in advancing the research design of the project.
Through participating in this conference, I was able to obtain information about the latest trends in support for people with neurodevelopmental disorders in the field of occupational health. As this is an area where sufficient evidence has not yet been accumulated, I would like to continue to consider creating an environment based on scientific evidence and contribute to the realization of a society where people with neurodevelopmental disorders and people from diverse backgrounds can demonstrate their abilities.
