Working Together Toward Interdependence: Chatbot-Based Support for Balanced Social Interactions Between Neurodivergent and Neurotypical Individuals

While many technologies have been developed for facilitating interaction between neurodivergent and neurotypical people to bridge communication differences and reduce social exclusion, most focus on supporting and teaching neurodivergent people to adapt to neurotypical standards and norms. To promote a more balanced approach to bridging the social gap, we conducted a 5-day diary study and semi-structured interviews with 16 participants (8 neurotypical and 8 with intellectual disability) to examine the current factors and barriers to their social interactions and to explore the design of social support chatbot systems. Our findings revealed diverging views between the groups on factors they valued in their interaction, and identified social uncertainty and differing social expectations as the main barriers to successful interactions. Based on the results, we outline three pitfalls that social support chatbots can fall into if not designed mindfully, and suggest design approaches that promote bidirectional social support and interdependence.