Navigating Financial Lives: How Autistic Adults Adapt Financial Technologies, Tools and Strategies

Paper Title

Navigating Financial Lives: How Autistic Adults Adapt Financial Technologies, Tools and Strategies

Publication Info

• Topic area: Intersection of autism, financial management, and technology adaptation.
• Keywords: Autism, neurodiversity, financial technologies, moneywork, neuroqueer technoscience, financial management, cognitive overload, inclusive design, HCI, personal finance.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Limited research exists on how autistic adults manage finances and adapt financial technologies. Existing studies focus on financial burdens or general financial well-being but overlook everyday financial practices and the adaptations autistic adults develop.
• Significance: Financial management is critical for well-being, yet autistic adults face unique challenges such as sensory overload, executive functioning difficulties, and financial hardship. Understanding their experiences can inform inclusive financial technology design.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research has focused on the financial burdens of autism or deficit-based views of financial skills. Few studies explore the lived experiences of autistic adults in financial management. This paper builds on neuroqueer technoscience to position autistic individuals as active creators and adapters of financial tools.

Solution

• Proposed approach: The study uses a participant-centered approach, employing Collaborative Visual Thinking (CVT) to explore how autistic adults navigate financial management and adapt technologies to their needs.
• Novelty:
  1. First study to explore the intersection of autism and financial technology adaptation.
  2. Introduces CVT, a method combining visual artefact creation with semi-structured interviews.
  3. Frames autistic individuals as active knowers and makers of financial technologies, leveraging neuroqueer technoscience.
  4. Identifies design tensions for inclusive financial technology development.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted 20 interviews with autistic adults using CVT, which involved co-creating visual artefacts during interviews.
  • Participants reflected on guiding concepts (e.g., income, outgoings, tools) and shared their strategies, tools, and challenges in financial management.
  • Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes related to autistic identity and financial practices.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Participants used diverse tools, blending digital and analogue methods (e.g., online banking, spreadsheets, pen and paper).
  • Seven sub-themes emerged: analytical skills, attention patterns, control and categorization, unpredictability, social communication differences, overload, and co-occurring conditions.
  • 13 participants reported autism-related struggles outweighing strengths, while 3 saw autism as advantageous in moneywork.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Highlights autistic strengths (e.g., analytical thinking, system creation) and challenges (e.g., sensory overload, executive dysfunction) in financial management, which are underexplored in existing research.
  • Demonstrates how autistic individuals creatively adapt financial tools, offering insights for inclusive design.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Participants: 20 UK-based autistic adults, diverse in age, gender, and co-occurring conditions.
  • Methods: CVT interviews, thematic analysis.
  • Tools: Visual artefacts, semi-structured interviews, participant feedback.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Focused on the UK financial system; findings may not generalize globally.
  • Limited diversity in the sample (e.g., few participants of color, no non-speaking autistic individuals).
  • Future research could explore systemic issues, power dynamics, and the psychological impacts of moneywork.

Summary

This study explores how autistic adults navigate financial management, revealing both challenges (e.g., sensory overload, executive dysfunction) and strengths (e.g., analytical thinking, system creation). Using Collaborative Visual Thinking, the research highlights the creative ways participants adapt financial tools to suit their needs. The findings emphasize the importance of inclusive financial technology design that balances simplicity, aesthetics, automation, and user control while harnessing autistic joy. This work contributes to autism research and HCI by framing autistic individuals as active agents in shaping their financial landscapes.