How design involvement impacts Deaf children

This paper presents an examination of the impacts involvement in design activities has on Deaf children. Existing research has identified several potential positive impacts of children's involvement in design activities, but such observations have been incidental. In the studies presented here, deliberate observations were made of children's reactions to design sessions. Two design projects have been undertaken in which Deaf children acted as informants and design partners. Early research reporting on the impacts of involvement in design activities on children focused on positive impacts, observed later in design projects. A key finding of this research, which has not been identified in earlier research, was that early phases of the research could negatively impact children by causing nervousness or anxiety.