USDA-NIFA Grant Aims to Bring More Job Possibilities for Neurodivergent Individuals

THINKING DIFFERENT — Kristen Gibson, director of the Arkansas Center for Food Safety, will investigate the specific learning needs of neurodivergent individuals. (U of A System Division of Agriculture)

MEDIA CONTACT

John Lovett

U of A System Division of Agriculture
479-763-5929  |  jlovett@uada.edu

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the help of a nearly $500,000 grant, Arkansas food safety expert Kristen Gibson is working to increase job opportunities for neurodivergent individuals.

Gibson, a professor of food safety and microbiology and director of the Arkansas Center for Food Safety, received the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The goal of the grant is to build more inclusive training models to integrate neurodivergent individuals in the produce industry.

Researchers will investigate the specific learning needs of neurodivergent individuals, or people whose neurological development differs from what is considered typical, including conditions like autism, dyslexia and more. Then, they will identify the most effective teaching methods and then tailor training materials to match. Supervisors will also receive training on how to support these individuals more effectively.

In Gibson’s previous work interviewing companies and growers on knowledge gaps in safety training for the leafy greens industry, she became interested in how she could help them live up to their commitments to inclusivity.

“I came across a few companies that had social missions with goals to provide employment opportunities for those who may be considered underserved or in the minority, and a group of those were people with neurodivergence,” she said. “In all of these companies, part of their food safety programs is to train workers, and those with different learning needs require different things.”

Leaders at these companies said they often struggled to meet their social missions while also upholding food safety needs. Gibson became inspired to fill this gap and ensure quality training materials were available for all learners.

Strengthening Employment Prospects

Gibson said the grant gives the produce industry a chance to open more job opportunities for neurodivergent individuals. She noted that 30 to 40 percent of those with neurodiverse disabilities who want to work face difficulty finding or keeping a job.

“People want to provide meaningful employment, and they don’t want to be exclusive, but they don’t know how” to be more inclusive, she said.

Gibson serves as project director for the upcoming project and is joined by five co-principal investigators: Barbara Chamberlin, extension instructional design and educational media specialist at New Mexico State University; Matheus Cezarotto, assistant professor and extension educational technology specialist with New Mexico State University’s Innovative Media Research and Extension Department; Pamela Martinez, associate professor of learning technologies with New Mexico State University’s Innovative Media Research and Extension Department and Learning Games Lab; Dorothea Lerman, professor of behavior analysis at the University of Houston-Clear Lake; and Phil Tocco, a Michigan State University extension educator.

Gibson conducts research for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The research team will compile the job duties associated with roles in the fresh produce industry and then discuss with experts how neurodivergent individuals might have difficulties understanding these concepts or safety practices.

The team will then delve into the root causes of these difficulties and design training materials around them. Researchers will test these proposed solutions in real-world settings to build a robust training program by the end of the three-year grant term.

Despite the three-year timeframe for the forthcoming study, Gibson said she hopes to see the effects of this work long after 36 months and translate to agricultural areas outside of fresh produce.

“Ideally, you would see higher employment within the industry of this group that maybe struggles with finding meaningful employment. Creating that environment for them to stay and stick with it,” she said. “I think that’s the goal.”

This grant is part of the Food Safety and Defense Program from USDA-NIFA. The project award number is 2024-70020-43021.

​To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.