Insights Unlocked, September 1, 2025

Episode: Creating Workplaces That Work for All to Thrive with Tara May

Host: Leah Hogan, Principal for Experience Research Strategy, UserTesting
Guest: Tara May, CEO, Aspiratech
Producer/Contributor: Nathan Isaacs, UserTesting

Episode Overview

This episode explores how to create truly inclusive workplaces that enable every kind of brain to thrive, focusing on neurodiversity as not just an “inclusion” checkbox, but an engine for business value, innovation, and human connection. Tara May, CEO of Aspiratech—a company where over 90% of the staff are autistic—shares candid stories and practical advice on the ROI of kindness, fostering psychological safety, avoiding common misconceptions, and leveraging neurodivergent strengths. The conversation is rich with examples, actionable strategies, and personal anecdotes relevant to anyone building customer and employee experiences that resonate and create impact.

Episode Breakdown

1. Origin Story of Aspiratech & Mission (02:11–03:30)

• Aspiratech’s founding was personal: started by Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg to create meaningful employment for their autistic son after struggling to find fitting opportunities.
• Modeling & Growth: Inspired by a Danish model, brought user testing and QA work for autistic adults to the US from a kitchen table to a $6M company with 100+ employees (90%+ autistic), serving Fortune 500 clients.
• Mission: Normalize neurodiversity discussions and demonstrate that inclusion drives business success.

"Fast forward to where we are today in 2025. We are a $6 million company with 100 employees, more than 90% of whom are autistic. And we get to talk about neurodiversity in the workplace everywhere we go, which is, to me, one of the greatest things we can do to fulfill our mission." — Tara May [02:28]

2. The Ubiquity and Untapped Power of Neurodiversity (03:31–07:21)

• Every workplace is already neurodiverse, whether recognized or not.
• Many adults realize their own neurodivergence when their children receive a diagnosis.
• Neurodivergent traits include ADHD, OCD, autism, and beyond. About 20% (1 in 5) identify as neurodivergent.
• Managers/Leaders should understand team brain differences; most leadership books ignore this fundamental aspect of people management.

"You already have a neurodiverse team at your workplace. Whether you know it or not, whether or not people talk about it, whether or not they are diagnosed or not." — Tara May [05:10]

3. Kindness as a Business Strategy: The ROI of Kindness (07:21–08:44)

• The “ROI of kindness” intentionally combines hard-nosed business logic with empathy.
• Psychological safety is crucial for innovation, especially at the pace of digital transformation in 2025.
• Empathetic leadership enables cultural change, whereas command-and-control leadership does not.

"When you need to move at the pace of digital, at the pace of AI in 2025 and beyond, you need a workplace where people feel psychologically safe to fail, where they can innovate, where they can be embraced for their outside the box ideas. And the way you do that, right, is by being kind and empathetic..." — Tara May [07:21]

4. Misconceptions about Neurodiversity at Work (09:42–12:23)

• Clients are often less “misinformed” and more curious—what’s it really like to work with autistic professionals?
• The answer: “It’s like working with any other human—strengths, weaknesses, personality differences.”
• Education about common neurodivergent behaviors (like stimming or varying learning preferences) dissolves bias and creates acceptance.
• Simple practices: ask individuals what they need to thrive; support all learning styles.

"Autistic humans are humans. Therefore you're going to see strengths and weaknesses, you're going to see different personalities, you're going to see the same myriad human experience as you do with anyone else." — Tara May [10:19]

5. Moving Beyond Checkbox Inclusion: Creating Psychological Safety (14:06–17:33)

• Inclusion isn’t about ticking boxes (e.g., setting the office temperature for one average). Everyone’s needs are different.
• Practical changes: Sensory rooms (used by everyone, not just autistic team members); headphones/noise-cancelling as an affordable, popular accommodation.
• The most powerful shift is cultural: making it explicitly OK to ask for what you need—with no requirement to disclose diagnoses, just a supportive “open door” for requests.

"It's about creating the cultural space where it's okay to ask. It's okay to have a need. It's okay to be a human with a need. And therefore it's safe to ask for whatever it is you might need." — Tara May [16:16]

"In 15 years, she has never gotten a request that she couldn't very easily and very affordably, if not for free, accommodate with just a little creativity." — Tara May, on Aspiratech’s head of support [18:37]

6. Listening & Acting: Feedback Loops for Inclusion (21:20–24:10)

• The core superpower for researchers and inclusive workplaces is “listening to actually hear.”
• Aspiratech involves advocacy groups and holds town halls before rolling out policy changes, ensuring feedback from neurodivergent employees.
• Not all feedback can be implemented, but the process of being heard is itself valuable and builds engagement.

"Listening is such a, a powerful tool as humans, in our family relationships, in the workplace and as we try to improve the world." — Tara May [21:41]

"You can absorb the feedback. You can use the feedback to improve your policies or your changes, and you can respond to it either by enacting change or by letting the team know why you can't." — Tara May [23:09]

7. Empathy, Emotions, and the Human Side of Business (24:10–25:39)

• Two types of empathy: "compassion empathy" (walking in someone else’s shoes) and "design empathy" (understanding so you can remove barriers).
• Emotional wellbeing and psychological needs are central to customer experience and product design, not just rational functionality.

"All the technology in the world, all the AI advancements in the world, and we are just still humans living our life every day, and we feel all the feelings. To pretend we don't is absurd, I think." — Tara May [25:25]

8. AI, Accessibility, and Neuro-Inclusion (26:22–30:41)

• AI reflects (and can reinforce) human biases in its training data.
• The solution: include neurodivergent people in AI design and dataset curation.
• Aspiratech is building a large language model based on their own body of knowledge about neuroinclusion.
• Designing for true accessibility is complex—features that help one group may hinder another (e.g., voice-activated tech helps the visually impaired but can hinder the hearing impaired), which is why principles (not just checkboxes/standards) are vital.

"AI is a reflection of the knowledge base that humans have already built. And therefore it is absolutely inherently biased." — Tara May [26:36]

"Perfection is very hard to achieve. Progress is not." — Tara May [28:41]

9. Neurodiversity Benefits Everyone (31:01–34:56)

• Neurodiversity isn’t just about the 20% with official diagnoses; the other 80% are also unique and can become neurodivergent under stress, life stage, or trauma.
• Trauma, menopause, sudden disability, emergencies: all can push anyone into neurodivergence, making accessible design relevant to all.
• Inclusion practices are a form of future-proofing.

"Neurodiversity and disability in general are one of the few marginalized groups where you could be born not in that group, and over time you could end up falling in that group." — Tara May [32:48]

10. Getting Started: Practical First Steps (35:08–37:07)

• First step is simple: Google “neurodiversity” or “autism in the workplace” to learn what you might be missing.
• Most accommodations are small, affordable, or even free—just a bit of creativity.
• Evolving your practice can start at an individual level, not just with big policies.

"Many of them are simple and free and they will make your workplace better for everyone." — Tara May [37:00]

Notable Quotes

• "You already have a neurodiverse team at your workplace. Whether you know it or not..." — Tara May [05:10]
• "The ROI of kindness ... a lot of people do not think of those as intrinsically interwoven, but they are." — Tara May [07:21]
• "Ask: What do you need to be your best self at work? And wouldn't it be wonderful if we asked that question of everyone?" — Tara May [11:52]
• "Perfection is very hard to achieve. Progress is not." — Tara May [28:41]
• "Neurodiversity refers to all of us, right?" — Tara May [31:06]
• "Inclusion practices are a form of future-proofing." — Paraphrased, [32:48–34:56]

Key Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• Every organization is already home to neurodiversity—don’t wait for diagnoses to begin your inclusion journey.
• Kindness and empathy are not soft skills—they’re critical business drivers that unlock innovation and loyalty at scale.
• Ask openly and often: “What do you need to be your best self at work?” Create a culture where self-advocacy is welcome.
• Most accommodations are simple, cost-effective, and benefit everyone, not just the neurodivergent.
• Move beyond compliance: Accessibility standards are a starting point, but principles and real feedback are what matter for progress.
• Future-proof your products and cultures: We all may need enhanced accessibility at some point in life.
• To begin: Just do the research—resources abound. Implement incremental tweaks, and seek out organizations like Aspiratech for deeper guidance.

Resources & How to Connect

• Aspiratech (non-profit)
• Tara May on LinkedIn
• UserTesting Podcast Show Notes: usertesting.com/podcast

Memorable Moment

At [19:13], Tara describes how a simple move—placing a team member’s desk against a wall—eliminated a significant stressor, summing up the episode’s theme: small actions, big impact.

"Little bit of creativity didn't cost a dime. And now we have a very happy team member." — Tara May [19:13]

For more on building inclusive, innovative teams and products that work for all, listen to the full episode and check out the extended resources provided by Aspiratech and UserTesting.