Neurodivergent persons often experience increased stress due to environmental factors such as noise, lighting, temperature, spatial layouts, or social dynamics. Smart and inclusive environments offer promising opportunities to reduce environmental stressors and to support stress regulation and everyday functioning by designing living spaces that respond to diverse needs.
This Special Thematic Session (STS) invites contributions that explore smart and inclusive living environments for neurodivergent persons across different settings, such as private homes, educational environments, workplaces, and community spaces, combining technological, spatial, social, and ethical perspectives. We particularly welcome work that goes beyond purely technology-driven solutions and considers hybrid approaches integrating sensing technologies, environmental and spatial design, participatory methods, and care perspectives.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Smart home technologies and responsive environments supporting stress regulation
- Inclusive spatial design, lighting, acoustics, and materiality
- Participatory, co-design, and user-centered approaches involving neurodivergent persons
- Ethical, social, and accessibility considerations in inclusive living environments
- Multidisciplinary experiences, prototypes, evaluations, and lessons learned
The STS aims to provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to exchange ideas and experiences and to discuss how inclusive environments can be designed responsibly, collaboratively, and in close dialogue with neurodivergent persons and their everyday contexts.
Chairs
Daniela Krainer, FH Kärnten gGmbH
Lukas Wohofsky, FH Kärnten gGmbH