"Hands on iPad" - How do students with intellectual disability participate in media aspects of digital and inclusive teaching?
Kids with ID touch the iPad less in inclusive classes, but small rotation tricks can fix it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Frisch et al. (2025) watched inclusive digital-story lessons in primary schools.
They timed how long each child actually touched the iPad.
Kids with intellectual disability were in the same class as neurotypical peers.
What they found
Students with ID got far less hands-on iPad time than their classmates.
The gap was big enough to see without a calculator.
Teachers mostly handed the device to the faster-raising hands.
How this fits with other research
Wang et al. (2025) just showed teens with ID can learn full digital tasks when taught step-by-step.
That study proves the kids can do it; Henrik shows they are not getting the chance.
Brock (2018) warned that most students with ID still sit in separate rooms.
Henrik adds: even when they are physically included, the tech stays just out of reach.
Why it matters
If you run inclusive lessons, treat iPad passes like you treat calling on students—rotate, prompt, and track turns.
A simple name-list or color-coded stick can guarantee every learner touches the screen.
More hands-on time now means stronger digital skills later.
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Make a turn list and require two iPad swaps per 15-minute digital story block.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Considering the transformation processes of inclusion and digitality in tandem is gaining importance in both research and teaching. Digital media have the potential to enable students with intellectual disability (ID) to participate in lessons through multimodality, interactivity, and adaptivity. AIM: Using video data from a project week on digital storytelling with iPads, this paper empirically examines how extensively first and second-grade students with ID participate in the use of an iPad in an inclusive setting. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Using video data from 16 inclusive pairings, the exact timing for when each person had their hands on the iPad was coded, and subcategories were used to determine the type of access to the iPad. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: A key finding is that students with ID have significantly less access to the iPad than their classmates without ID. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: We discuss this result critically in light of theoretical assumptions about the importance of digital media for academic participation in inclusive education. Research needs as well as implications for teaching practice are formulated. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: This study provides insights into the academic participation of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the context of inclusive education and the role of digital media in this process. As it is assumed, that digital media can foster the participation of students with ID, we focus on both the amount of time spent using an iPad and the way it was used in an inclusive education setting. This paper highlights the potential for a discrepancy in participation in inclusive instruction with digital media, which appears problematic concerning the goal of academic participation for all students. Though the paper cannot provide a definitive answer to how students with ID can achieve equal access to digital media, the results of this study show that this discrepancy must be considered as inclusive and digitally supported instruction progresses.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104961