Kristy Johnson | "Neurodiverse Curiosity: Rethinking Communication, Development, and the Practices of Knowing"

Curiosity is often operationalized through language-mediated measures (self-report surveys, question-asking, and text-based tasks) that presume neurotypical speech and cognition, making the curiosity of many individuals with absent or minimal speech harder to recognize. My research seeks to expand how we understand and measure communication, aiming to recognize and support diverse expressions of curiosity that extend beyond conventional definitions. Through ROSCO (Rapid Online Sample of Communication), EVOCA (Exploration of Vocalizations), and other studies, my lab uses naturalistic, home-based methods to capture multimodal communication—including vocalizations, gestures, body movements, and augmentative technology use—that resist conventional categories yet reveal deep patterns of growth, attention, and learning. These approaches generate new scientific insight and invite more inclusive pedagogies: rethinking whose questions count, how we listen across modalities, and how classrooms and research practices can honor diverse ways of knowing.

Dr. Kristina (Kristy) Johnson is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University, jointly appointed in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Communication Sciences & Disorders. She also holds a faculty appointment at the Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on individuals with complex neurodevelopmental differences, especially those with autism, intellectual disabilities, rare genetic disorders, and minimal spoken speech. She works at the intersection of science and engineering, specializing in personalized naturalistic studies, developmental science, digital healthcare, and augmentative technology.