Ant



I completed my PhD in 2021 in Media Art and Technology at Queen Mary University of London, in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and I was part of the Sonic Interaction Design Lab associated with the Centre for Digital Music. I am currently a permanent part-time Lecturer in User Experience Design and the Year 2 BA UXD Lead in the School of Design at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London.

During my PhD, I collaborated with a primary school based in North-East London, UK, specialising in autism where I (co-)designed and tested two playful sonic e-textile TUIs with three groups of autistic children, and I (co)developed a framework for observing social play mediated by sonic e-textile TUIs with teachers, and speech and language therapists working at the school. The research followed an empirical inquiry conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods. I conducted three studies using Research Through Design and following a neurodiversity narrative to explore how a more inclusive research and design approach to tangible user interfaces (TUIs) for play could benefit marginalised children, such as non-conventionally verbal *autistic children. The focus of design was not just on the technology but on the environment created and the experience and opportunities offered, including neurotypical researchers' attitudes towards and appreciation of neurodiversity. This allowed to take a holistic approach to TUI's development for autistic children, focusing on the broader context in which the technology is deployed, the ecology, not just the technology. In my work, I propose(d) a shift in the interaction paradigm and challenge the notion that autistic people should aspire to simulate neurotypical behaviours to adhere to societal norms. I do this to disrupt the normalization agenda that subtly pervades the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and to direct designer’s attention toward supporting autistic ways of being in the world.

My interdisciplinary works have been exhibited nationally (London, UK) and internationally (USA, EU).  I have a good publications record, and my work was published and presented at high-level academic international conferences such as the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) and journals such as the ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) and the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) and other middle-level international conferences such as the Interaction Design and Children (IDC), where the work won the Best Demo Award, and the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) where I published on music-making to scaffold social playful activities and self-regulation. I co-authored a workshop exploring design fiction and absurd making for critical NIME design that won the Best Workshop Prize. These publications can be accessed freely from the links below.

Finally, I have provided peer-reviewed publications submitted to CHI, TACCESS, NIME, TEI, and IDC. In 2021, I received Special Recognition for Outstanding Reviews for CHI 2021 Papers.

*Since a large UK survey conducted by Kenny et al. [1] suggested that autistic people prefer to use identity-first language (e.g., autistic people instead of people with autism), I have started to prefer this terminology. 
Also, I sympathise with Spiel’s view [2] on using identity-first language as a political act that “acknowledges” autistic people’s preferences.

  1. Kenny, L., Hattersley, C., Molins, B., Buckley, C., Povey, C., & Pellicano, E. (2016). Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community. Autism, 20(4), 442-462.
  2. https://katta.mere.st/person-first-or-identity-first.



You can download my research papers for free, from the links below.

Conference Papers:
Journal Papers:Conference Demos:
Conference Workshops: