Yvette
Doss
Researching neurodivergent learners, AI, and accessibility. Ph.D. Candidate at UC Santa Barbara.
I study how autistic and neurodivergent students use and experience AI tools in education.
I am on the academic job market in fall 2026. I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, with an emphasis in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies. I hold a Project TEAMS Fellowship, an OSEP-funded doctoral training grant preparing scholars to advance equity in student mental health and wellbeing in schools.
My research examines how AI systems shape the experiences of autistic and neurodivergent students in higher education — with particular attention to the cognitive, social, and emotional demands those systems place on users that existing accessibility frameworks cannot currently measure. My dissertation research examines AI use among autistic college students. This work sits at the intersection of human-computer interaction, disability studies, and education research. I am also interested in the design and governance of educational AI tools more broadly.
Before starting at UCSB in 2022, I earned an M.A. in Education from UC Santa Barbara, a B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. I spent six years as a special education teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District, and before that worked as a journalist, essayist, and communications professional.
At UCSB, I founded the Neurodivergent Student Project, which provides peer mentorship and community for neurodivergent graduate students, and edited Disparate Kind: Neurodivergent Poets Chapbook (Snowy Plover Press, 2026).
My work examines how AI systems shape the experiences of autistic and neurodivergent students, and what those systems demand of users that current accessibility frameworks cannot yet account for. Current projects span Deeper Learning in Teacher Education Programs, AI-mediated learning, autistic student transitions, and the qualitative study of neurodivergent experience in educational settings.
Deeper Learning in Teacher Education Programs
Graduate Student Researcher on a qualitative study examining deeper learning practices across teacher education programs nationwide, through interviews with teacher candidates and faculty.
Disparate Kind: Neurodivergent Poets Chapbook
Editor and founder of a literary publication created through the Neurodivergent Student Project at UCSB, centering the voices of neurodivergent writers and challenging normative expectations of cognition, language, and form.
- Schuck, R. K., Geng, A., Doss, Y., Lin, F., Crousore, H., Baiden, K. M., Dwyer, P., Williams, Z. J., & Wang, M. (2024). A qualitative investigation into autistic adults' perspectives on intervention goals for autistic children. Neurodiversity, 2. doi:10.1177/27546330241266718
- Lambert, R. & Doss, Y. Engaging teachers in experiences of neurodiverse students learning mathematics: Insider narratives of disability and mathematics. Mathematics Teacher Educator. Under review
- Monroy Castro, M., Lambert, R., Mireles-Rios, R., & Doss, Y. Flipping tortillas: Chicana methodologies and the embodied mathematics of Latina students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Under review
- Doss, Y. (Ed.). (2026). Disparate Kind: Neurodivergent Poets Chapbook. Snowy Plover Press.
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2026
Autistic users' descriptions of LLM use for learning and executive supportAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA
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2025
Embodied intersectionality and emotion: Theorizing complex embodiment of Latinas with learning disabilities learning mathAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Denver, CO
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2024
Cross-disciplinary collaborative efforts to advance equity in mental healthNational Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA
My approach to teaching is shaped by six years in LAUSD classrooms and ongoing work in teacher preparation. I am committed to Universal Design for Learning as both a pedagogical framework and an equity stance — one that assumes learner variability as the norm rather than the exception. At the postsecondary level, I design learning experiences that help students connect abstract educational ideas to the real decisions teachers must make about access, inclusion, and learner difference.
Workshops & Invited Talks
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TAs Supporting Students with Autism & ADHD at UCSB
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TAs Supporting Neurodivergent Students at UCSB
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Advocacy and Agency in Equity Conversations: Supporting Neurodivergent Students
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Counselors Supporting Neurodivergent Students at UCSB
K–12 Teaching
- 2016–2022 Education Specialist, Los Angeles Unified School District Inclusion/RSP and Special Day Class instruction in secondary math and ELA, and elementary mild-moderate SLD. California Clear Education Specialist Instruction Credential (Mild-Moderate), ASD and EL added authorizations.
I welcome inquiries from prospective collaborators, journalists, educators, and students. I am particularly glad to connect with people working on neurodivergent education, inclusive pedagogy, and teacher preparation.
My curriculum vitae is available upon request.
Institutional address
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
CV
Available upon request.