UX research
inclusive design
HCI
msc thesis
Audhd tinted love
AUDHD TINTED LOVE
Navigating Romance on the Spectrum A research-led HCI investigation into how individuals with co-occurring Autism and ADHD experience dating and how digital tools could support them.
Role: Solo Researcher
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Institution: Newcastle University
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Timeline: 17 weeks
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Year: 2024
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Type: MSc HCI Thesis
Overview
AuDHD sits at the intersection of two well-documented conditions and somehow falls through the gap between them.
This was my MSc thesis at Newcastle University: a qualitative HCI investigation into how individuals with co-occurring Autism and ADHD navigate romantic relationships and digital dating. Through autoethnography, interviews, and expert consultation, I surfaced the cognitive, emotional, and communication challenges shaping these experiences and translated them into an inclusive design framework and applied design concepts.The reframe that drove everything: dating doesn't end at the first match. Designing only for discovery leaves AuDHD users without support for the part that's actually hardest.
Context and Problem
Individuals with co-occurring Autism and ADHD known as AuDHD don't just experience both conditions in parallel. The combination produces a distinct cognitive profile, distinct emotional patterns, and distinct communication needs. Not a sum of two diagnoses. Something else entirely.
Despite a 30–80% co-occurrence rate between ASD and ADHD, HCI research has overwhelmingly studied each in isolation. Mainstream dating platforms offer no meaningful customisation for neurodivergent users no sensory controls, no disclosure options, no support for the transition from digital to in-person. AuDHD individuals are navigating one of the most cognitively and emotionally demanding social contexts without tools designed for them.
"AuDHD is more complex than a blend, especially with traits that contradict each other." - Dr. Debra Bercovici, Psychology Professor & AuDHDer
Research Methodology
I designed a qualitative, user-centred research approach across three methods, chosen specifically to access a community where trust, safety, and sensitivity to disclosure matter as much as the data itself.
01
Autoethnography
First-person insight drawn from close personal experience an insider perspective that shaped every research question and brought contextual fluency no external method could replicate.
02
Semi-structured interviews
One-on-one interviews with AuDHD individuals and their partners. I used personas and storyboarding mid-interview giving participants a fictional proxy to discuss emotionally complex experiences without requiring direct disclosure.
03
Expert interview
Dr. Debra Bercovici, Psychology Professor at the University of Toronto and an AuDHDer herself bridging academic literature, clinical knowledge, and lived expertise in a single conversation.
Data analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke).
What the Research Revealed
Seven themes emerged. Four shaped the design direction and collectively, they surface AuDHD as a design context that existing HCI research has barely touched.
01
Cognitive and emotional overwhelm dominates social settings
Fear of judgment, heightened anxiety in unfamiliar environments, difficulty expressing emotions under stress. Hardest at the transition from digital to in-person the exact moment dating apps stop supporting users.
03
Technology is critical infrastructure, not a convenience
Calendars, reminders, and task systems aren't optional tools for AuDHD individuals they're essential for executive function. But relationship management was scattered across them, increasing cognitive load rather than reducing it.
02
Sensory sensitivities shape environmental choices
Crowded, loud, visually overwhelming venues the default for most first dates were actively avoided. Participants pre-screened locations for sensory comfort before agreeing to meet. A layer of planning neurotypical dating culture doesn't account for.
04
The AuDHD information gap is systemic
Therapists specialise in ASD or ADHD rarely both. Participants and their partners couldn't find reliable resources. Everyone was navigating a combined experience that the available literature hadn't caught up to.
"We know a lot about ADHD and we know quite a bit about autism but we don't know what it's like in combination. We've never really looked at that. So we may not have the right information about what's needed." - Dr. Debra Bercovici, Psychology Professor & AuDHDer
What the Research Produced
The findings translated into a three-pillar inclusive design framework and three applied concepts that show how it works in practice.
Pillar 01
Transparency
Users disclose neurodivergent status, sensory preferences, and communication needs openly reducing the anxiety of mid-relationship disclosure and improving compatibility from the start.
Pillar 02
Scaffolding
Designed for the transition from digital to in-person, not just the match. Pre-written prompts, gradual escalation paths, and structured options that reduce the cognitive load of the highest-anxiety moment in AuDHD dating.
Pillar 03
Centralised relationship support
Dating doesn't end at the first date. The executive function infrastructure AuDHD individuals already rely on consolidated into a relationship-aware system rather than scattered across generic tools.
Relationship management app with dating app integration
A CRM-like app for relationships people tracking, shared calendars, event scheduling, reminders with snooze and postpone, and integration with existing dating platforms. Designed to reduce the organisational overhead of a new relationship, not add another app to manage.
Dating app design recommendations
Profile-level transparency, scaffolded communication, and sensory-friendly venue suggestions adapting mainstream platforms for neurodivergent users rather than building from scratch.
Profile screen
Neurodivergent / AuDHD Status
Neurodivergent / AuDHD Status
Sensory Sensitivity Information
Sensory Sensitivity Information
Location Preferences
Location Preferences
Chat screen
Pre-written Prompts
Pre-written Prompts
Reveal Neurodivergent / AuDHD Status
Reveal Neurodivergent / AuDHD Status
User personas including the supportive partner
Two personas anchored the design recommendations: the AuDHD Individual and the Supportive Partner. Including the partner wasn't a secondary deliverable it was a deliberate argument. Relationships are two-sided. Partners reported unmet needs, scarce resources, and no tools that acknowledged their role. Designing only for the AuDHD individual would have produced solutions for discovery, not connection.
Treating the relationship as the unit of design analysis not just the individual was the most important methodological decision in this project.
Reflection
This project taught me that the hardest design problems aren't always the ones without solutions sometimes they're the ones nobody has bothered to frame yet.
The limitations here reflect the field, not the research. AuDHD-specialised therapists were rare, academic literature was sparse, and full narrative analysis wasn't feasible within a 17-week timeline. That under-resourcing is part of what the project documented.
What I'd approach differently: I'd extend from research recommendations to validated prototypes testing the relationship management app and dating profile patterns with AuDHD participants, iterating against measurable outcomes. And I'd frame the supportive partner experience as a parallel product opportunity, not just a research persona. It's a space the dating industry hasn't acknowledged yet and one with real design and commercial logic behind it.
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Designed with love by Swati ✦
© 2026 Swati Bhat
Designed with love by Swati ✦
© 2026 Swati Bhat
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Swati Bhat · Senior UX Designer
Swati Bhat · Senior UX Designer