As an undergraduate student, Brianne Tomaszewski, PhD, worked as a direct service provider for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This fostered her passion for supporting these individuals to be included in their communities, including employment opportunities. In her current role as a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the TEACCH Autism Program and a faculty fellow at UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), Tomaszewski continues to focus her work on how to support individuals with IDD through employment.

In her most recent project—Innovative Disability Employment Advancement with Leading-edge Technology Promoting Accommodations Resources and Technology Needs and Rights (IDEAL PARTNERs)—Tomaszewski is collaborating with FPG Senior Research Scientist Ann Sam, PhD, and FPG Senior Implementation Specialist Wendy Morgan, PhD. to address barriers to employment through the development of advanced technology.

“I know how meaningful employment is to everyone, including adults with IDD,” said Tomaszewski. “I want to create practical, useful tools that will lead to the ultimate goal of successful employment.”

“I know how meaningful employment is to everyone, including adults with IDD,” said Tomaszewski. “I want to create practical, useful tools that will lead to the ultimate goal of successful employment.”

This project, which launched in fall 2025, grew out of a need identified over the past four years by Work Together NC, a statewide initiative focused on how to support the transition to and through adulthood for individuals with IDD in North Carolina. Employment is one of the keys to this transition. Research shows that when individuals with IDD are employed, they have a higher quality of life and better mental and physical health. To be successful, this process should not begin when an adult is looking for employment, but well before. It is essential to facilitate individuals’ preparation for employment with support from family members, educators, and support workers. 

At the same time, employers need support for creating inclusive, welcoming environments in which adults with IDD can thrive. Tomaszewski works closely with Mike Chapman, the Director of the TEACCH Autism program’s Employment Services program, who has led the way in employer trainings to support autistic adults.

IDEAL PARTNERs addresses the needs of both employers and employees with IDD through three innovative components. The first is the IDEAL Virtual Toolkit, a foundational, comprehensive reference guide that will consolidate information regarding a wide range of support needs and their associated workplace accommodations, as well as various employment topics. This resource, an expansion of work begun with Work Together NC, is available at https://worktogethernc.com as downloadable and fillable resources. The team plans to increase the interactivity of the toolkit to facilitate its ease of use.

The second component of the project will be the development of the PARTNER tool, an assistive technology artificial intelligence (AI) conversational tool designed specifically for use by individuals with IDD, educators, service professionals, and employers. While the team will develop this tool with key feedback from potential users, their hope is that the final PARTNER tool will be a virtual AI coach that will walk employees and employers through thinking about helpful accommodations, allowing them to practice conversations about requesting and providing these supports.

A program of training and technical assistance disseminated across North Carolina, utilizing the comprehensive reference guide and AI conversational tool within an innovative blended learning strategy, is the final element of this project. The team wants potential users to have the training and support needed to easily implement these new resources in their settings to increase the successful employment of adults with IDD. 

During its first year, IDEAL PARTNERs is focusing on information gathering from individuals, caregivers, direct service professionals, educators, and employees. This information is critical in the development process to ensure the team is building tools that will have a meaningful impact. The gathered information will be used to create the tools and resources in collaboration with the UNC team and UltiSim, a company with decades of experience in AI and simulation. Ultimately, the team will test the created tools and disseminate this information for wide use.

As the principal investigator of the project, Tomaszewski oversees the management, design, and protocols of the project. She also works closely with Sam who will oversee the iterative studies of the projects, such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews. They will collaborate with Morgan, who will manage the design and development of the tools. UltiSim, a Chapel Hill-based company with expertise in AI and simulation, will develop the technology pieces in collaboration with the FPG team.

 “Our PARTNER tool will not only synthesize large amounts of information to provide hyper-personalized responses,” said Morgan. “It will also be co-designed with members of the IDD community to ensure usability and relevance and developed in collaboration with experts in the fields of both AI and inclusive employment to ensure security and accuracy.”

The team plans for the new tools to be interactive and personalized for users, not simply a static website where one can retrieve information. Instead, the tools will provide tailored recommendations for accommodations and supports as well as practice for requesting and using accommodations. “Our PARTNER tool will not only synthesize large amounts of information to provide hyper-personalized responses,” said Morgan. “It will also be co-designed with members of the IDD community to ensure usability and relevance and developed in collaboration with experts in the fields of both AI and inclusive employment to ensure security and accuracy.”

“Our Work Together NC resources are designed to support employers in building inclusive workplaces,” said Sam. “The new tools developed by Project IDEAL will support more inclusive and successful workplaces.”

“Our Work Together NC resources are designed to support employers in building inclusive workplaces,” said Sam. “The new tools developed by Project IDEAL will support more inclusive and successful workplaces.”