Using Participatory Design to Develop Communication-Supporting Technology: A Scoping Review
Resumo
Building on and updating foundational reviews from a decade ago, this scoping review synthesizes Participatory Design (PD) practices in the design of communication support systems for neurodivergent children. Focus is given to interdisciplinary frameworks, technological outputs, and the reported experiences of children engaged in the process via PD. Findings indicate the emergence of bespoke PD methods informed by a complex interplay between child development and computer science. Children’s experience of PD and technology impact are dependent on individual capability and access to support networks. Most tools are designed for remediation, at times incorporating playfulness and gamification for sustained motivation. Future work should prioritize participant diversity, provide transparency in reporting theoretical foundations, and incorporate robust validation of design outputs.Referências
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American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 5th ed., text rev. edition.
Arksey, H. and O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1):19–32.
Bekker, T. and Antle, A. N. (2011). Developmentally Situated Design (DSD) making theoretical knowledge accessible to designers of children’s technology. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, pages 2531–2540.
Benton, L. and Johnson, H. (2015). Widening participation in technology design: A review of the involvement of children with special educational needs and di-sabilities. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction,, 3:23–40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2015.07.001.
Benton, L., Vasalou, A., Khaled, R., Johnson, H., and Gooch, D. (2014). Diversity for design: a framework for involving neurodiverse children in the technology design process. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’14, page 3747–3756, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Blevis, E., Lim, Y.-k., Roedl, D., and Stolterman, E. (2007). Using design critique as research to link sustainability and interactive technologies. In Schuler, D., editor, Online Communities and Social Computing, pages 22–31, Berlin, Heidelberg. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Börjesson, P., Barendregt, W., Eriksson, E., and Torgersson, O. (2015). Designing technology for and with developmentally diverse children: a systematic literature review. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’15, page 79–88, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Bronfenbrenner, U. and Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Lerner, R. M. and Damon, W. E., editors, Handbook of Child Psychology: Theoretical Models of Human Development, volume 1, pages 793–828. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 6th edition.
de Faria Borges, L. C. L., Filgueiras, L. V. L., Maciel, C., and Pereira, V. C. (2012). Customizing a communication device for a child with cerebral palsy using participatory design practices: contributions towards the pd4cat method. In Proceedings of the 11th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, IHC ’12, page 57–66, Porto Alegre, BRA. Brazilian Computer Society.
de Faria Borges, L. C. L., Filgueiras, L. V. L., Maciel, C., and Pereira, V. C. (2014). The life cycle of a customized communication device for a child with cerebral palsy: contributions toward the pd4cat method. Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, 20:1–23.
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., and Nacke, L. (2011a). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining ”gamification”. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, MindTrek ’11, page 9–15, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O’Hara, K., and Dixon, D. (2011b). Gamification. using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts. In CHI ’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA ’11, page 2425–2428, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
El Shemy, I., Urrea Echeverria, A. L., Erena-Guardia, G., Saldan˜a, D., Vulchanova, M., and Giannakos, M. (2023). Enhancing the vocabulary learning skills of autistic chil-dren using augmented reality: a participatory design perspective. In Proceedings of the 2023 Symposium on Learning, Design and Technology, LDT ’23, page 87–96, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., and Keay-Bright, W. (2011). Designing technology for children with special needs: bridging perspectives through participatory design. CoDesign, 7:1 – 28.
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., Keay-Bright, W., and Pain, H. (2012). Interpreting input from children: a designerly approach. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’12, page 2377–2386, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., Alcorn, A., and Pain, H. (2013). Conversing through and about technologies: Design critique as an opportunity to engage children with autism and broaden research(er) perspectives. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 1(2):38–49.
Frauenberger, C. Spiel, K. and Makhaeva, J. (2019). Thinking outsidethebox - designing smart things with autistic children. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 35(8):666–678. PMID: 31057337.
Jordan, B. and Henderson, A. (1995). Interaction analysis: Foundations and practice. The journal of the learning sciences, 4(1):39–103.
Law, J., Dornstauder, M., Charlton, J., and Gréaux, M. (2021). Tele-practice for children and young people with communication disabilities: Employing the com-b model to review the intervention literature and inform guidance for practitioners. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(2):415–434.
Lucero, A. and Arrasvuori, J. (2010). Plex cards: a source of inspiration when designing for playfulness. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Fun and Games, Fun and Games ’10, page 28–37, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Makhaeva, J., Frauenberger, C., and Spiel, K. (2016). Creating creative spaces for co-designing with autistic children: the concept of a ”handlungsspielraum”. In Procee-dings of the 14th Participatory Design Conference: Full Papers - Volume 1, PDC ’16, page 51–60, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Malinverni, L., Mora-Guiard, J., Padillo, V., Mairena, M., Hervás, A., and Pares, N. (2014). Participatory design strategies to enhance the creative contribution of children with special needs. In Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’14, page 85–94, New York, NY, USA. ACM
McNaney, R., Wilson, C., Wallace, J., Brereton, M., Roper, A., Wilson, S., and Sturdee, M. (2018). Giving a voice through design: Adapting design methods to enhance the participation of people with communication difficulties. In Proceedings of the 15th Participatory Design Conference: Short Papers, Situated Actions, Workshops and Tu-torial, volume 2 of PDC ’18, pages 1–3, Hasselt and Genk, Belgium. ACM.
Mesibov, G. B., Shea, V., and Schopler, E. (2005). The TEACCH approach to autism spectrum disorders. Springer Science & Business Media.
Millen, L., Cobb, S., and Patel, H. (2011a). A method for involving children with autism in design. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’11, page 185–188, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Millen, L., Cobb, S., and Patel, H. (2011b). Participatory design approach with children with autism. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 10(4):289–294.
Monk, R., Whitehouse, A. J., and Waddington, H. (2022). The use of language in autism research. Trends in neurosciences, 45(11):791–793.
Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., and Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(10):2119–2126.
Prizant, B. M., Wetherby, A. M., Rubin, E., Laurent, A. C., and Rydell, P. J. (2006). The SCERTS model: A comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders, Vol. 1. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
Rubin, Z., Kurniawan, S., and Tollefson, T. (2014). Results from using automatic speech recognition in cleft speech therapy with children. In Miesenberger, K., Fels, D., Archambault, D., Peňáz, P., and Burger, T., editors, International Conference on Computers for Handicapped Persons (ICCHP 2014), volume 8547 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 283–286, Cham. Springer International Publishing.
Saeedi, S., Bouraghi, H., Seifpanahi, M. S., and Ghazisaeedi, M. (2022). Application of digital games for speech therapy in children: A systematic review of features and challenges. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2022:4814945. Article ID 4814945.
Schuler, D. and Namioka, A., editors (1993). Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., New Jersey.
Sommerville, I. (2011). Software Engineering. Pearson, Boston.
Tekinbas, K. S. and Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. MIT press.
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., et al. (2018). Prisma extension for scoping reviews (prisma-scr): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7):467–473.
Tóth, O., Pesthy, O., Farkas, K., Guttengéber, A., Komoróczy, E., Réthelyi, J. M., Szuromi, B., and Németh, D. (2022). Intact fluency in autism? a comprehensive approach of verbal fluency task including word imageability and concreteness. Autism Research, 15(4):677–686.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2022). The 12 transferable skills: From unicef’s conceptual and programmatic framework. Technical report, UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office. Accessed: 2023-11-10.
United Nations General Assembly (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 1577. Adopted November 20, 1989.
Veritas Health Innovation (Accessed in 2023). Covidence Systematic Review Software. [link].
Vygotsky, L. (1976). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. Play: Its role in the development and evolution, pages 863–895.
Wilson, C., Sitbon, L., Ploderer, B., Opie, J., and Brereton, M. (2020). Self-expression by design: Co-designing the expressiball with minimally-verbal children on the autism spectrum. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Compu-ting Systems, CHI ’20, page 1–13, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Zorzi, S., Lubkina, V., Je¯kabsone, I., and Berteotti, L. (2025). Digital technology interventions for communication skills in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders: A scoping review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 164:105080.
American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 5th ed., text rev. edition.
Arksey, H. and O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1):19–32.
Bekker, T. and Antle, A. N. (2011). Developmentally Situated Design (DSD) making theoretical knowledge accessible to designers of children’s technology. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, pages 2531–2540.
Benton, L. and Johnson, H. (2015). Widening participation in technology design: A review of the involvement of children with special educational needs and di-sabilities. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction,, 3:23–40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2015.07.001.
Benton, L., Vasalou, A., Khaled, R., Johnson, H., and Gooch, D. (2014). Diversity for design: a framework for involving neurodiverse children in the technology design process. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’14, page 3747–3756, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Blevis, E., Lim, Y.-k., Roedl, D., and Stolterman, E. (2007). Using design critique as research to link sustainability and interactive technologies. In Schuler, D., editor, Online Communities and Social Computing, pages 22–31, Berlin, Heidelberg. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Börjesson, P., Barendregt, W., Eriksson, E., and Torgersson, O. (2015). Designing technology for and with developmentally diverse children: a systematic literature review. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’15, page 79–88, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Bronfenbrenner, U. and Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Lerner, R. M. and Damon, W. E., editors, Handbook of Child Psychology: Theoretical Models of Human Development, volume 1, pages 793–828. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 6th edition.
de Faria Borges, L. C. L., Filgueiras, L. V. L., Maciel, C., and Pereira, V. C. (2012). Customizing a communication device for a child with cerebral palsy using participatory design practices: contributions towards the pd4cat method. In Proceedings of the 11th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, IHC ’12, page 57–66, Porto Alegre, BRA. Brazilian Computer Society.
de Faria Borges, L. C. L., Filgueiras, L. V. L., Maciel, C., and Pereira, V. C. (2014). The life cycle of a customized communication device for a child with cerebral palsy: contributions toward the pd4cat method. Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, 20:1–23.
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., and Nacke, L. (2011a). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining ”gamification”. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, MindTrek ’11, page 9–15, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O’Hara, K., and Dixon, D. (2011b). Gamification. using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts. In CHI ’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA ’11, page 2425–2428, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
El Shemy, I., Urrea Echeverria, A. L., Erena-Guardia, G., Saldan˜a, D., Vulchanova, M., and Giannakos, M. (2023). Enhancing the vocabulary learning skills of autistic chil-dren using augmented reality: a participatory design perspective. In Proceedings of the 2023 Symposium on Learning, Design and Technology, LDT ’23, page 87–96, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., and Keay-Bright, W. (2011). Designing technology for children with special needs: bridging perspectives through participatory design. CoDesign, 7:1 – 28.
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., Keay-Bright, W., and Pain, H. (2012). Interpreting input from children: a designerly approach. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’12, page 2377–2386, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Frauenberger, C., Good, J., Alcorn, A., and Pain, H. (2013). Conversing through and about technologies: Design critique as an opportunity to engage children with autism and broaden research(er) perspectives. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 1(2):38–49.
Frauenberger, C. Spiel, K. and Makhaeva, J. (2019). Thinking outsidethebox - designing smart things with autistic children. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 35(8):666–678. PMID: 31057337.
Jordan, B. and Henderson, A. (1995). Interaction analysis: Foundations and practice. The journal of the learning sciences, 4(1):39–103.
Law, J., Dornstauder, M., Charlton, J., and Gréaux, M. (2021). Tele-practice for children and young people with communication disabilities: Employing the com-b model to review the intervention literature and inform guidance for practitioners. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(2):415–434.
Lucero, A. and Arrasvuori, J. (2010). Plex cards: a source of inspiration when designing for playfulness. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Fun and Games, Fun and Games ’10, page 28–37, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Makhaeva, J., Frauenberger, C., and Spiel, K. (2016). Creating creative spaces for co-designing with autistic children: the concept of a ”handlungsspielraum”. In Procee-dings of the 14th Participatory Design Conference: Full Papers - Volume 1, PDC ’16, page 51–60, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Malinverni, L., Mora-Guiard, J., Padillo, V., Mairena, M., Hervás, A., and Pares, N. (2014). Participatory design strategies to enhance the creative contribution of children with special needs. In Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’14, page 85–94, New York, NY, USA. ACM
McNaney, R., Wilson, C., Wallace, J., Brereton, M., Roper, A., Wilson, S., and Sturdee, M. (2018). Giving a voice through design: Adapting design methods to enhance the participation of people with communication difficulties. In Proceedings of the 15th Participatory Design Conference: Short Papers, Situated Actions, Workshops and Tu-torial, volume 2 of PDC ’18, pages 1–3, Hasselt and Genk, Belgium. ACM.
Mesibov, G. B., Shea, V., and Schopler, E. (2005). The TEACCH approach to autism spectrum disorders. Springer Science & Business Media.
Millen, L., Cobb, S., and Patel, H. (2011a). A method for involving children with autism in design. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC ’11, page 185–188, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Millen, L., Cobb, S., and Patel, H. (2011b). Participatory design approach with children with autism. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 10(4):289–294.
Monk, R., Whitehouse, A. J., and Waddington, H. (2022). The use of language in autism research. Trends in neurosciences, 45(11):791–793.
Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., and Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 18(10):2119–2126.
Prizant, B. M., Wetherby, A. M., Rubin, E., Laurent, A. C., and Rydell, P. J. (2006). The SCERTS model: A comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders, Vol. 1. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
Rubin, Z., Kurniawan, S., and Tollefson, T. (2014). Results from using automatic speech recognition in cleft speech therapy with children. In Miesenberger, K., Fels, D., Archambault, D., Peňáz, P., and Burger, T., editors, International Conference on Computers for Handicapped Persons (ICCHP 2014), volume 8547 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 283–286, Cham. Springer International Publishing.
Saeedi, S., Bouraghi, H., Seifpanahi, M. S., and Ghazisaeedi, M. (2022). Application of digital games for speech therapy in children: A systematic review of features and challenges. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2022:4814945. Article ID 4814945.
Schuler, D. and Namioka, A., editors (1993). Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., New Jersey.
Sommerville, I. (2011). Software Engineering. Pearson, Boston.
Tekinbas, K. S. and Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. MIT press.
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., et al. (2018). Prisma extension for scoping reviews (prisma-scr): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7):467–473.
Tóth, O., Pesthy, O., Farkas, K., Guttengéber, A., Komoróczy, E., Réthelyi, J. M., Szuromi, B., and Németh, D. (2022). Intact fluency in autism? a comprehensive approach of verbal fluency task including word imageability and concreteness. Autism Research, 15(4):677–686.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2022). The 12 transferable skills: From unicef’s conceptual and programmatic framework. Technical report, UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office. Accessed: 2023-11-10.
United Nations General Assembly (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 1577. Adopted November 20, 1989.
Veritas Health Innovation (Accessed in 2023). Covidence Systematic Review Software. [link].
Vygotsky, L. (1976). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. Play: Its role in the development and evolution, pages 863–895.
Wilson, C., Sitbon, L., Ploderer, B., Opie, J., and Brereton, M. (2020). Self-expression by design: Co-designing the expressiball with minimally-verbal children on the autism spectrum. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Compu-ting Systems, CHI ’20, page 1–13, New York, NY, USA. ACM
Zorzi, S., Lubkina, V., Je¯kabsone, I., and Berteotti, L. (2025). Digital technology interventions for communication skills in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders: A scoping review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 164:105080.
Publicado
06/05/2026
Como Citar
ANSARI, Rafiah; ANVARI, Soraya; ESCOBEDO, Lizbeth; WEHBE, Rina R..
Using Participatory Design to Develop Communication-Supporting Technology: A Scoping Review. In: CONFERÊNCIA LATINO-AMERICANA DE INTERAÇÃO HUMANO-COMPUTADOR (CLIHC), 12. , 2026, Aracaju/SE.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
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p. 136-150.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/clihc.2026.20411.
