ed the low floor of the Cricket programmable bricks for use by children who are blind or visually impaired [ 3]. While these children may have a great deal of expertise in using computers and other digital-assistive technologies to read or write, they rarely have the opportunity to build their own personally meaningful computational devices. Bhargava integrated tactile- and auditory-based interactions into the BricketLOGO programming system, effectively building a ramp for Cricket’s low floor. Low floors are an even more important design consideration for children with disabilities, and are likely to be lower or need more thought.

Such ramps are not just about
access to technology, but also about
extending invitations for children
with disabilities to participate
alongside their peers, teachers, and
families. Jenkins et al. describe the
potential of a “participatory cul-
ture” to thrive in the current new
media landscape [ 4]. A participatory
culture is “a culture with relatively
low barriers to artistic expres-
sion and civic engagement, strong
support for creating and sharing
one’s creations, and some type
of informal mentorship whereby
what is known by the most experi-
enced is passed along to novices.”
Moreover, Jenkins et al. also iden-
tify a participation gap facing chil-
dren growing up in the 21st century,
or “the unequal access to the oppor-
tunities, experiences, skills, and
knowledge that will prepare youth
for full participation in the world of
tomorrow” [ 4]. People with disabili-
ties are largely under-represented
in science and engineering fields [ 5].
The participation gap is detrimental
not just to children with disabilities,
but also to the larger world poten-
tially denied access to the things
these children know, the way they
know them, and the things they may
build with computational systems.

High Ceilings and Tall Ladders

Interactive technologies with “high ceilings” support a child’s increasingly sophisticated projects. Systems with high ceilings have their drawbacks, though. Their many powerful, complex features may primarily get used only by a small group of experts who can devote the required time for lengthy training and have access to specialized materials and resources. The additional challenge of high ceilings is in providing expressive power for children with disabilities, who in many cases need very basic needs covered (e.g., basic communication).

To reach the highest ceilings,
these children may require “tall
ladders,” or scaffolds that let every
child progress at their own pace and
excel to the best of their abilities.
Peppler and Warschauer [ 6] discuss
the case study of “Brandy,” a nine-
year-old girl, three years behind in
school, with an IQ of 60 who had
been diagnosed as having intellec-
tual disabilities. Over the course of
two and a half years, using Scratch
as part of an afterschool Computer
Clubhouse program in South Los
Angeles, Brandy became a more con-
fident and creative reader and writer
through computer programming,
despite low expectations by her
peers and strong prejudices from her
community. For Brandy, the diverse
array of multimodal creative projects
that are possible within Scratch’s
high ceilings allowed her to experi-
ment with linking traditional and
new literacy practices in increasingly
complex ways that a more tradition-
al curriculum could not. Brandy may
have needed to spend more time
on various rungs of the ladder (e.g.,
working independently at first only
with the aid of Scratch cards), but
she eventually created projects that
outside evaluators commented were
compelling, exemplary of youth pro-
duction, and at a professional level.
Children with disabilities have the
capacity to do sophisticated work but
may need specific adaptations.

November + December 2012

interactions

Wide Walls and Frames of Interest

“Wide walls” are key to personalization and individuality in using a creative technology. They allow for as broad a range of creative possibilities as children’s interests and passions are varied. For children with disabilities, the starting points and outcomes of creating and experiencing such interactive systems can be particularly diverse. The design principle of wide walls applies to children with disabilities in two main ways. First, wide walls can account for the wide range of variability within children with disabilities as a population or within specific disabilities. Secondly, an individual child with a disability such as autism spectrum disorder might favor deeply honing a highly specific area, or frame of interest, on that wall, instead of exploring the breadth of possibilities.

A challenge in designing for children with special needs is the wide variability within these populations. The same child might behave significantly differently based on the environment he or she is in or the medications he or she is taking. A child may learn very differently depending on the context (e.g., home, classroom, after school) and activity (e.g., therapy session, daily chores, communication, video gaming). Children with multiple disabilities may have additional, complex individual needs. Besides the use of the technology, this contextual variability also has implications for the research and development of these technologies. Accessing children with disabilities for the purposes of