People with disabilities have the right to an accessible living environment. As a society, we can ensure that living with a disability is possible. NWO has awarded funding to six research projects within the KIC call ‘Breaking down barriers to an inclusive living environment’. These projects focus on developing innovative solutions, digital, physical or social, that enable people with disabilities to participate in society in a way that suits them.
The aim of the call
The aim of this call is to promote an inclusive society in which people with disabilities or chronic conditions can participate fully and actively. The emphasis is on creating an inclusive living environment. The call focuses on various areas of daily life, such as education, work, housing, mobility and leisure, and invites the establishment of innovative experimental environments, such as field labs and living labs. In these environments, citizens, businesses, researchers and public authorities work closely together to develop and refine concrete solutions. By positioning the research close to practice and carrying it out in co-creation with the parties involved, the results are directly applicable and sustainably embedded in the living environment.
The awarded projects
CO-INTEND CO-design of INteraction Technologies Embracing Neuro-Inclusive Dynamics
Project lead: Dr. J. van Dijk – University of Twente
Autistic children experience challenges in interaction with others (parents, teachers, peers). Traditionally this is explained as a 'social disorder'. Supportive technologies often focus on training 'social skills'. A neurodiversity perspective suggests problems instead result from mismatches between autistic and non-autistic ways of perceiving and acting. We co-design with children, parents and teachers interactive technologies supporting autistic children and their others in jointly discovering which interactions work well for both. Using these, we expect reduction of stress and anxiety and higher succesrates at school. In doing so we contribute to a neuro-inclusive society embracing the full diversity of human potential.
More information
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