Different
minds
UNEQUAL CIRCUMSTANCES
EVERY
voice matter
voice in every choice
EconAbility is an Australian social innovation founded by economist Dr Helen Hoang to make everyday economic decisions more accessible for neurodivergent people and families experiencing financial pressure.
Through one decision model delivered in three ways: a digital game, board game and facilitated simulation pack, people can explore choices, express what matters, compare consequences and identify support in a format that works for them.
No tests. No judgement. No single “right” answer.
PhD Economics,
ANU
4 years
AIHW
ACT Innovation Connect Recipient
Amazon-Bestselling Author
Existing Digital & Tabletop Prototypes
The problem
The barrier is not the person.
Bills, subscriptions, transport, scams, housing and work decisions increasingly arrive through dense language, numbers and fast digital interfaces. These systems often assume that everyone processes information, compares options and communicates in the same way.
For neurodivergent families already managing financial pressure, those assumptions can create another barrier: understanding what the options mean, expressing what matters and identifying support that could change the decision.
One Decision. Three Ways to Engage.
Specific. Build for scale.
EconAbility starts with neurodivergent families experiencing economic pressure. Focusing on one clearly defined group allows us to understand the barriers deeply, test what actually helps and avoid designing for an abstract “average user”.
The longer-term ambition is a reusable framework that can make complex decisions more accessible across community services, consumer systems, utilities and other public-facing settings.
Explore Choices
Express Priorities
Compare Pathways
See Consequences
we build with people, not for them
Neurodivergent Families
Help identify real barriers, priorities and everyday decisions that matter.
Lived Experience
Accessibility
Help us test communication, cognitive load and inclusive interaction.
Specialist Input
Community Partners
Explore safe, controlled ways to pilot EconAbility with families and communities.
Pilot Opportunities
Evaluation
Help us understand participation, usability and unintended effects.
Independent Review
Express
Experience
Compare
See consequences
Identify support
Reflect
we make economic choices
More than an idea
Helen has already developed the underlying simulation capability through two existing products.
EconoTales
Digital story-and-choice mechanics around scarcity, trade-offs, risk and consequences.
Next step: Adapt the mechanics for accessible family decision scenarios and multiple communication modes.
Kingdonomics
Introduce unequal starting conditions, access constraints, support and reflection on who bears costs and who benefits.
Why I Built EconAbility
Growing up with scarcity in Vietnam taught me that choices mean little if people cannot access them. Migrating to Australia and later recognising my ADHD showed me that the same system can feel simple to one person and overwhelming to another.
EconAbility asks a practical question: can we design decisions around different minds instead of expecting every mind to adapt?
Watson, Australia
Gameplus, Technology park 49 Phillip Ave Watson, ACT, 2602
Phone:
+61 4 5179 5179
Email:
hello@econtech.org
and shape it with us
Help us build a more accessible way to navigate economic choices. We are looking for people and organisations with lived experience or expertise to help shape, challenge and test EconAbility.