INCLUSIVE DIGITAL LEARNING DESIGN SYSTEM FOR NEURODIVERGENT CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS/PARENTS
Author
Ateghe, Louisa Keren
Term
4. term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-01
Pages
46
Abstract
Helping neurodivergent children (children who process information differently) manage their day on their own is a priority in inclusive education. However, there is still a gap between using digital tools and developing real autonomy. Many scheduling apps keep children in managed compliance rather than self-directed engagement, and communication between home and school often places heavy coordination demands on parents and teachers. This qualitative case study examined how neurodivergent children, parents, and educators used Mobilize Me, a digital scheduling app, in a Danish special school. Based on these insights, the study designed and evaluated a prototype with three connected parts. Data came from semi-structured interviews with three participants, a natural classroom observation, and a structured prototype demonstration. A thematic analysis, guided by four well-known theories—Self-Determination Theory (about autonomy and motivation), Executive Function Theory (about planning and self-regulation), Affordance Theory (how design invites certain actions), and Experiential Learning Theory (learning by doing)—generated six themes. The core finding is that the “autonomy gap” is architectural, not neurological. Current tools make the child a passive recipient of instructions, the parent a remote observer disconnected from the scheduling environment, and the teacher the only active configurator of the day. In response, the prototype offered: a child-facing, participatory interface; a real-time teacher dashboard; and a parent view with a structured “morning flag” to hand over regulatory information from home to school. An independent specialist with no stake in the project confirmed that the prototype targets the right structural issues. The study reframes the home–school collaboration gap as a design failure rather than a relationship problem, introduces the morning flag as a way to prepare the child neurologically for the school day, and redefines the individualization gap as a “complexity floor” issue—the minimum complexity needed that systems must be able to support. It concludes that the solution is not more technology but better architecture: systems designed from the child outward, through the teacher, to the parent, with all three structurally active rather than one directing and two receiving.
At hjælpe neurodivergente børn (børn der bearbejder information anderledes) med selv at styre deres dag er en prioritet i inkluderende undervisning. Alligevel er der stadig et hul mellem brugen af digitale værktøjer og reel selvstændighed. Mange planlægningsapps fastholder børn i styret efterlevelse frem for selvstyret engagement, og kommunikationen mellem hjem og skole lægger ofte et tungt koordinationspres på forældre og lærere. Dette kvalitative casestudie undersøgte, hvordan neurodivergente børn, forældre og undervisere brugte Mobilize Me, en digital planlægningsapp, på en dansk specialskole. På baggrund af indsigterne blev der designet og evalueret en prototype med tre sammenhængende dele. Data kom fra semi-strukturerede interviews med tre deltagere, en naturlig klasseobservation og en struktureret prototype-demonstration. En tematisk analyse, styret af fire velkendte teorier—Self-Determination Theory (om autonomi og motivation), Executive Function Theory (om planlægning og selvregulering), Affordance Theory (hvordan design inviterer til handling), og Experiential Learning Theory (læring gennem praksis)—gav seks temaer. Hovedfundet er, at “autonomikløften” er arkitektonisk, ikke neurologisk. Nuværende værktøjer gør barnet til en passiv modtager af instruktioner, forælderen til en fjern observatør uden adgang til planlægningsmiljøet, og læreren til den eneste aktive tilrettelægger af dagen. Som svar tilbød prototypen: en barneside, der inviterer til aktiv deltagelse; et lærer-dashboard i realtid; og en forældrevisning med et struktureret “morgenflag” til overlevering af reguleringsinformation fra hjem til skole. En uafhængig specialist uden interesse i projektet bekræftede, at prototypen adresserer de rigtige strukturelle problemer. Studiet omtænker kløften i hjem–skole-samarbejdet som et designsvigt snarere end et relationsproblem, introducerer morgenflaget som en mekanisme til neurologisk forberedelse af skoledagen, og omdefinerer individualiseringskløften som et “kompleksitetsgulv”-problem—et minimumsniveau af kompleksitet, som systemerne skal kunne håndtere. Konklusionen er, at løsningen ikke er mere teknologi, men bedre arkitektur: systemer designet fra barnet og ud, gennem læreren, til forælderen, hvor alle tre er strukturelt aktive, i stedet for én der styrer og to der modtager.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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