Transformative Topics June 2026

In recognition of Neurodiversity Pride week, which runs June 11-17 this year, this month we honor work supporting neurodiversity consumers and employees. More information on Neurodiversity Pride can be found here (https://neurodiversityprideday.com/). As they discuss on the website, Neurodiversity Pride is both a celebration of the unique creativity, innovation, and fresh ways of seeing the world that neurodivergent minds bring, as well as a movement to challenge outdated stereotypes, amplify neurodivergent voices, and push for genuine inclusion.

One leading scholar in the area of neurodiversity in the marketplace is Dr. Josephine Go Jefferies, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Newcastle University. Broadly, her research challenges societal and marketplace structures that exclude or marginalize neurodivergent individuals. Early work in this area includes a piece titled "Marketing #neurodiversity for well-being," published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing in 2022, which provides a novel bottom-up segmentation of people affected by neurodiversity using Twitter data. In the spirit of the TCR's newsletter, below Dr. Go Jeffereis reflects on her more recent work in this area.

"In 2024, I co-established a Neurodiversity Think Tank (NTT) during the AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference with Dr. Meredith Rhoads, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Butler University. The goal was to highlight a community of interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners whose work in research, advocacy, design, and program delivery aimed to enhance neurodiversity and inclusion in various settings, incorporating diverse perspectives. The NTT effectively raised the visibility of a growing community of neurodiversity scholars, helping to develop their capacity.

Since it was established, NTT members have contributed chapters, commentaries, and seminar presentations; delivered keynote addresses; co-edited journal issues; and proposed a handbook on neurodiversity and the marketplace. It also led to a 2025 TCR Track 1 session, titled “Beautiful Minds: Marketing in the Age of Neurodiversity,” co-chaired with Dr. Jane Machin. Both TCR and NTT have expanded the size, visibility, and reach of the neurodiversity and marketing research community. Three recent neurodiversity-focused pieces that I have been involved with include:

• An invited commentary that provides a neurodiversity perspective on fostering inclusive marketplaces by bridging ability mismatches that arise between people with different neurotypes.

• Another invited commentary with introducing the concept of neuroconvergence to JPP&M and TCR audiences. Neuroconvergence describes a state in which individuals with different neurotypes (i.e., neurodivergent and neurotypical) achieve alignment in communication and perception without suppressing their natural cognitive tendencies. The paper argues that mixed-neurotype customer–employee interactions are commonplace, given that an estimated 15–20% of the population is neurodivergent. When appropriately supported, these interactions can enhance creativity by fostering cognitive flexibility, richer information elaboration, and productive conflict. We identify communication accessibility as the key enabler of neuroconvergence, highlighting practices such as structured interactions, direct language, asynchronous communication options, sensory-friendly environments, and AI-assisted tools. The paper concludes by calling on consumer protection agencies, workforce regulators, and AI governance bodies to recognise cognitive and communicative accessibility as a public good rather than merely a workplace accommodation.

• A book chapter that examines the relationship between digital marketing and disability through a neurodiversity lens. It begins by exploring neurodiversity as a concept, then explains neurodiversity masking and its implications for digital marketing and consumption. The chapter argues that neurodiversity masking undermines the accurate interpretation of neurodivergent consumer behaviors using mainstream digital marketing methods. It also highlights the multiple falsities and biases inherent in digital marketing practices, which obscure and mislead firms and perpetuate disabling marketplace dynamics. By critically engaging with the limitations of behavioral data and segmentation techniques, the chapter critiques digital marketing’s role in reinforcing ableist assumptions and highlights the bad-faith argument and the false equivalence between behavioral segmentation and the embrace of neurodiversity in its complexity."

Cited work:

• Go Jefferies, J., & Ahmed, W. (2022). Marketing# neurodiversity for well-being. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 39(6), 632-648. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2021-4520

• Go Jefferies (2025) "The Bad Faith Argument Behind the Use of Digital Marketing for Neurodiversity". Chapter 5 in The Routledge Handbook of Disability and Digital Marketing. Edited by Jonatan Södergren and Niklas Vallström. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781032691664-8/bad-faith-argument-behind-use-digital-marketing-neurodiversity-josephine-go-jefferies

• Go Jefferies, J., Rhoads, M., Vogus, T. J., Satornino, C. B., & Broderick, A. A. (2025). A Neurodiversity Perspective on Fostering Marketplace Inclusion by Bridging Ability Mismatches. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 44(2), 234-236. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156251316656

• The Neurodiversity Think Tank: Advancing social change through neuroinclusive marketing and public policy. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/neurodiversitythinktank/a-constellation-of-multi-disciplinary-experts-collaborating-to-advance-neuro-inclusive-marketing-and-public-policy/

• Sirianni N, Greenslade K, Koseoglu G, Go Jefferies J, Satornino C. (In Press) "Neuroconvergence: An Untapped Strategy for Reducing Communication Mismatches and Enhancing Creativity in Frontline Encounters". Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156261435454