Assistive Technologies, AI, and Special Educational Needs in Inclusive Learning Contexts: Co-Design, Rights-Based Approaches, and Special Pedagogy

This Research Topic examines how Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Technology (AT) can meaningfully support learners with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN) while contributing to the design of inclusive educational settings. The focus is not on AI or technology in general, but on systems, tools, and practices that reduce barriers, enable participation, and support accessible, ethical, and empowering learning environments. Particular attention is given to the conditions that make these technologies pedagogically meaningful, rights-based, context-sensitive, and responsive to the needs of learners with disabilities and SEN.Contributions are invited on the following themes:AT design, selection, and evaluation for learners with SEN. Empirical and conceptual work on how AT tools, including those enhanced by AI - such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, screen readers, predictive input, eye-gaze interfaces, and speech recognition - are selected, adapted, and evaluated for learners with specific disabilities. Studies should address effectiveness, usability, and learner agency in real SEN contexts, not technology performance in isolation.Co-design, learner voice, family participation, and inclusive context design. Research in which learners with disabilities, families, teachers, SEN professionals, and other relevant stakeholders are actively involved in the design, adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of AI tools and Assistive Technologies. Contributions may include participatory, design-based, and action research approaches that promote learner voice, agency, self-determination, shared decision-making, and accessibility. Particular attention should be given to how technologies contribute to the design of inclusive learning contexts for learners with disabilities, removing barriers, enabling participation, and supporting flexible environments.Speech, language, and communication needs. Studies on AT and AI-supported tools for learners with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) - including AAC, natural language processing, and multimodal interaction systems. Contributions should address learner diversity within SLCN populations and the risks of standardisation when AI systems are not designed for communication variability.Professional empowerment and inclusive practice in SEN. Studies on how SEN teachers, support staff, and allied professionals develop the competencies needed to select, implement, adapt, and critically evaluate AI learning tools, Assistive Technologies, and AI-powered AT in relation to both individual needs and wider inclusive educational design. Contributions on professional development, interdisciplinary collaboration, reflective practice, ethical awareness, accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, and evidence-informed integration of technologies into inclusive contexts are particularly welcome.Policy, rights, and legal frameworks. Analysis of how disability rights frameworks - including the UNCRPD, national SEN legislation, and accessibility and procurement standards - shape the adoption of AI and AT in educational settings. This includes governance of data generated by assistive systems used by learners with disabilities, and accountability for algorithmic decisions affecting SEN populations.Critical risks in AT and SEN contexts. Research addressing dependency, reduced agency, over-automation, and privacy concerns specific to high-support SEN contexts, including the risk that AI-driven AT narrows participation and self-determination rather than expanding it.All contributions should specifically address how Assistive Technologies, AI tools, and AI-enhanced solutions support learners with disabilities and special educational needs in accessing, participating in, and benefiting from educational settings. Studies focused on AI or technology in general educational contexts, without a clear and direct connection to learners with disabilities, SEN, or Assistive Technology, are outside the scope of this collection. Topic editors: Silvio Marcello Pagliara, Daniele Bullegas, Branislav Gerazov, Katerina Mavrou Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84158/assistive-technologies-ai-and-special-educational-needs-in-inclusive-learning-contexts-co-design-rights-based-approaches-and-special-pedagogy