Child-centred framing through design research: a framework for analysing children’s ‘dream wheelchair’ designs to elicit meaning and elevate their voice

Abstract

Purpose

This paper considers the possibilities of analysing children’s own designs to contribute to the design of inclusive paediatric mobility interventions. The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to develop a framework for child-centred design analysis, (2) to analyse children’s designs to explore both quantitative and qualitative insights and (3) to explore how children’s voice could be elevated through design research.

Methods

A Child-centred Design Analysis Framework is developed in an interdisciplinary manner, comprising four dimensions including Child, Content, Context and Format. It is used as a vehicle to analyse and code 130 “Dream Wheelchair” designs by children.

Results

The children’s “Dream Wheelchair” designs reference a range of features and priorities, which are gathered into themes through the framework, providing insights into children’s individual and collective mobility narratives, values and requirements. Themes are explored through a qualitative interdisciplinary lens to understand the nature of children’s lived experiences.

Conclusions

The framework promotes child-centred framing through extracting meaning from children’s own designs. It is suggested that child-centred framing and a rights-respecting approach to assistive technology design research can lead to more appropriate design outcomes and improved user experiences for children with disabilities.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILIATION

• The design analysis framework developed and presented in this paper facilitates child-centred framing to elevate children’s voice in a design process.

• Analysis of 130 children’s visual and textual designs elicited narratives, values, and requirements around their “Dream Wheelchairs”; these findings contribute insights which can be used for designing inclusive paediatric mobility interventions.

• This paper invites industry practitioners and design researchers to use a child-centred and rights-respecting approach when designing with or for children.

Keywords:

• Child-centred
• paediatric mobility
• inclusive design
• voice
• children’s rights
• framing
• interdisciplinary

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Wheels of Change project and the PPL Dream Fund initiative for sharing the secondary data used in this study, and acknowledge the Hugh Greenwood Fund for Children’s Health Research for supporting the study conduct.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hugh Greenwood Fund for Children’s Health Research.