From Lab to School: Helping Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disability affecting about 5% of school-aged children — roughly one child per classroom. Children with DCD experience motor coordination difficulties resulting in impaired handwriting, disrupting their ability to interact effectively with standard school textbooks. They also face visual organization difficulties that limit their ability to navigate dense page layouts and affect reading. Every year, thousands of these children struggle to use the same school textbooks as their peers. The main objective of Lab2School4All is to ensure that children with DCD in primary school can access and use adapted versions of school textbooks that enable them to learn autonomously in mainstream classrooms.The project will (1) map textbook structures and adaptation practices across Europe; (2) generate scientific evidence to validate and improve adaptation practices; (3) develop an AI-powered open-source environment for the automatic adaptation of school exercises; (4) conduct a cross-country classroom study; and (5) clarify the legal framework for adapting copyright-protected school textbooks and applying disability-related copyright exceptions.Throughout the project, individuals with DCD, as well as teachers, parents, and occupational therapists, will be actively involved in a participatory approach to ensure that the solutions developed are relevant, acceptable, and grounded in real-world contexts. By combining evidence-based research and AI technologies, this project aims to provide scalable, accessible, and inclusive educational solutions for children with DCD across Europe and beyond.