“Someone who has ADHD or someone who has autism should make the Rules”: A participatory study of neurodivergent Child perspectives on the ethics of Extended reality technologies

Abstract

Extended reality (XR) technologies have the potential to shift the digital landscape for young people's education, play, and social interactions. However, the immersive and data-intensive nature of these technologies also poses risks for young people, with autistic children and/or those with ADHD (i.e., neurodivergent children) experiencing specific vulnerabilities. We conducted an interview study with 21 neurodivergent children ages 8–13, drawing on animated speculative future use scenarios as a discussion prompt, to identify their views on the possibilities and limitations of XR technologies. While their ethical critiques overlapped significantly with those of neurotypical children in prior work, they also offered novel interpretations (e.g., the importance of neurodivergent individuals being involved in XR design; heightened potential for problematic media use with VR). This study contributes to the child-computer interaction community by surfacing the views of a population whose first-person accounts of novel technologies are underrepresented. In addition, our work offers valuable insights into ethical XR research with and design for neurodivergent children, considering their priorities, interests, and concerns.