Abstract

Participatory design and interdisciplinarity are essential aspects when designing for children with accentuated needs; however, they have been even more relevant during the pandemic. COVID-19 has established structural and social changes in our society (telework, online education, globalization of work schedules, etc.) which have made family conciliation a great difficulty for families with children with accentuated needs, given their low self-autonomy. This situation has reinforced the importance of the interconnected needs and skills of the different agents (parents, children, therapists, teachers, etc.) that are involved in their lives, which, therefore, should be considered when working on the self-autonomy of these children. This work explores how these interconnected experiences should be reflected in product design and the relevance of having participatory design and interdisciplinarity at the core of the process, to create meaningful products that improve the independence of these children. This work is developed by conducting bibliographic research, surveys, and interviews with family members and professionals. It explores the perspectives of different agents on what the pandemic implied and the importance of translating them into design methods. The results showed that the needs of parents, professionals, and children differ from each other; thus, to create products that help these children be more independent, the combination of experiences of the different agents should serve as the basis for the product design. It is a first step toward participatory design and interdisciplinary methods focused on interconnected needs, experiences, and culture to design socially sustainable products.