Co-Designing Environment-Based Strategies with Neurodivergent Individuals for Sensory-Inclusive Dental Visit Experiences

Paper Title

Co-Designing Environment-Based Strategies with Neurodivergent Individuals for Sensory-Inclusive Dental Visit Experiences

Publication Info

• Topic area: Inclusive design for sensory-adaptive healthcare environments
• Keywords: Neurodivergent, sensory processing disorder, participatory design, augmented reality, sensory-inclusive, dental anxiety, interactive environments, co-design, human-computer interaction, adaptive healthcare

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Current sensory-adaptive interventions in dental clinics, such as Sensory-Adapted Dental Environments (SADE), are static and lack real-time customization. Existing tools focus on isolated sensory inputs rather than integrated, environment-based solutions.
• Significance: Dental anxiety, especially for neurodivergent individuals with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), can lead to avoidance of dental care, negatively impacting oral health and quality of life. Dynamic, sensory-inclusive environments could improve accessibility and comfort.
• Motivation and related work: Prior work includes SADE, protocol-driven familiarization tools (e.g., MyDentist), and immersive technologies like VR/AR for sensory modulation. However, these approaches are often fixed, predefined, or not integrated into clinical workflows. This study addresses the gap by exploring co-designed, environment-based strategies tailored to neurodivergent sensory needs.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A participatory design study involving neurodivergent individuals to create a technology-agnostic catalogue of environment-based strategies for sensory-inclusive dental environments.
• Novelty:
  1. Development of a design catalogue with five core goals: experience transformation, distraction, exposure management, restoration, and social facilitation.
  2. Exploration of multiple implementation pathways, including AR, projection mapping, and responsive physical elements.
  3. Methodological insights into co-design with neurodivergent communities using tangible materials as proxies for interactive interventions.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  1. Conducted 12 co-design sessions with 13 neurodivergent participants using a 1:5 scale dental office model and multisensory materials.
  2. Participants reflected on past dental experiences, ideated solutions, and physically redesigned the model.
  3. Data analysis involved thematic coding to identify design goals, strategies, and emotional needs.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Five design goals:
    1. Experience Transformation: Thematic (e.g., jungle or space themes) and re-representative (e.g., softening sharp tools) transformations.
    2. Distraction: Interactive and motion-based elements, such as color-changing floors or jellyfish projections.
    3. Exposure Management: Procedural transparency (e.g., AR overlays explaining tools), communication aids (e.g., stop buttons), sensory blocking, and gamification.
    4. Restoration: Nature-inspired designs, customizable ambience (e.g., lighting, sound, scent), and psychological "portals" like windows.
    5. Social Facilitation: Emotional support from animals, trust-building with clinicians, and managing the presence of others.
  • 17 specific design strategies were identified within these goals.
• Advantage over baselines: Unlike static solutions like SADE, the proposed strategies allow for real-time, patient-controlled customization of the environment, addressing dynamic sensory needs.
• Experiments / evaluation: Co-design sessions included tangible prototyping and thematic analysis of participant contributions. Participants’ designs informed a catalogue of actionable strategies for future implementation.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Small, specific sample (13 verbally fluent neurodivergent adults).
  • Findings are conceptual and not yet tested in real clinical environments.
  • Future work includes broader participant recruitment, physical prototyping in real spaces, and integration with clinical workflows.

Summary

This study co-designed sensory-inclusive dental environment strategies with neurodivergent individuals, identifying five design goals and 17 strategies to enhance sensory comfort and autonomy. The findings highlight the potential of adaptive technologies like AR for real-time, patient-controlled environmental modifications. The methodology emphasized tangible, multisensory co-design, offering insights for inclusive design in healthcare. While exploratory, this work provides a foundation for developing dynamic, personalized systems that address diverse sensory needs in clinical settings.