Building Momentum: Bringing the Whole Museum into the Work

The strength of the NILN project lies in its people. We’re so glad that each museum has brought together a core team of 4 people to help lead this project. Having colleagues from different departments and with different perspectives at the table creates a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another and think together about how autism inclusion can become part of the museum experience. That cross-departmental structure is intentional. Inclusion is not solely the responsibility of education, accessibility, visitor services, or any other single department. It touches every aspect of a museum—from the information visitors find before they arrive to the welcome they receive at the door, the experience they have in the galleries, and whether they feel that the museum is truly a place for them. It also means creating an inclusive work environment where staff and volunteers feel welcomed, valued, supported, and able to contribute in ways that build on their individual strengths.

Of course, the core team’s role is therefore not to do all the work. They are there to help the work spread and support a museum culture of inclusion.

Begin by building shared understanding

Many colleagues may know very little about autism or may think that autism inclusion means offering headphones to each visitor. Others may already be making thoughtful changes but may not recognize their efforts as part of a larger institutional commitment.

An important first step is to help colleagues understand what the museum is trying to accomplish and why it matters. This does not require a lengthy presentation. A short introduction at an all-staff meeting or in an email might include:

• Why your museum joined the project
• What the core team has been learning
• What autistic visitors and families have said they need
• One or two early “aha” moments
• How colleagues can become involved

The goal is to create curiosity, establish a shared purpose, and signal that autism inclusion belongs to the whole museum. If you need a resource to use or adapt, we can help with creating that item.

Use the connections you already have

Because the four core-team members come from different departments, each person has an existing network within the museum. These relationships are one of the team’s most valuable resources.

A core-team member might ask for 15 minutes at their own departmental meeting to discuss how autism inclusion relates specifically to that department’s work. The conversation will look different in each area. Then each core team member could ask to join one other departmental meeting – bringing all the departments into the conversation.

Visitor-services staff might consider what happens when someone needs to leave the museum to decompress and then return. Marketing and communications staff might examine whether accessibility information is easy to find online. Exhibition teams might think about sensory load, clarity of language, visual instructions or opportunities for choice. Security staff might consider how they interpret behaviour that appears unusual. Development staff might explore how inclusion connects with community relationships, funders, and the museum’s public value.

These smaller conversations help staff see that they all have a meaningful role to play. They also give the core team a chance to listen. Colleagues may identify barriers, opportunities, or existing strengths that the team had not yet considered.

Communicate more than once—and in more than one way

A single presentation or all-staff email is unlikely to create lasting change. People need to encounter the work repeatedly and through different channels.

An all-staff email can introduce the project, share a useful resource, celebrate an early success, or invite colleagues to participate in the online autism-inclusive training. Brief updates can also be included in staff newsletters, intranet posts, departmental meetings, staff orientations, or informal conversations.

The most effective messages are usually concrete. Instead of reporting only that the core team attended a training session, share what the team learned and what it could mean for the museum:

We learned that some autistic visitors need to leave a busy environment to regulate themselves before returning. We are now examining whether our re-entry policy supports this.

That kind of example helps colleagues understand both the issue and its practical implications.

Engage leadership

Visible leadership support can give the work legitimacy and momentum. Leaders do not need to direct every activity, but staff need to know that autism inclusion matters to the institution.

Consider what you want your leaders to understand and what you are asking them to do. You might invite a senior leader to open an all-staff conversation, participate in the training, meet with the core team, or publicly connect the work to the museum’s mission and strategic priorities.

Leadership engagement is especially important when inclusion requires changes to policies, staffing, budgets, or departmental responsibilities. Enthusiasm is valuable, but sustained change also requires decisions and resources.

Invite participation; get people online!

Building momentum does not mean persuading everyone to endorse a finished plan. It means inviting colleagues to help shape the museum’s approach.

You can use the questions we’ve been discussing the in the community of practice:

• What are we already doing that supports autistic visitors, colleagues, and community members?
• Where might people encounter unnecessary barriers?
• What is one change our department could realistically make?
• Whose perspective is missing from this conversation?
• What support would staff need to put this change into practice?

These questions recognize existing strengths while creating space for honest reflection. They also move the conversation from general support for inclusion to practical action.

This is also the moment to invite participation in the modules – any staff or volunteer is welcome to join the online learning platform – we are hoping to have at least 50% of your museum’s staff participating in the online trainings by the end of September. This will help to build a critical mass of engagement that will help to catalyze the culture and practice shifts we are trying to make.

Make progress visible

Small changes matter, particularly when they are connected to a larger vision. Share what is happening across the museum: a webpage made easier to navigate, a re-entry policy reconsidered, staff completing training, a quieter space identified, or autistic community members contributing to planning. In the museum I last worked in we had an intranet page that had daily announcement – that would make a highly visible and frequent spot to high-light a project like this.

Celebrating these steps shows that the work is moving forward. It also helps staff see autism inclusion not as an additional program, but as part of how the museum welcomes people, makes decisions, and serves its community.

The core team can be the catalyst—but it should not remain the centre of the work forever. Success will come when knowledge, responsibility, and commitment begin to spread throughout the museum. The question is not simply, “What can our core team accomplish?” It is, “How can our core team make it possible for the whole museum to participate and create a culture of inclusion?”