NOVIX is an early‑stage extended reality (XR) prototype designed to explore how children understand interactions in non‑visual XR environments. For the initial co‑design phase, we developed the GhostXR activity, where children engage with a playful, invisible ‘ghost’ through movement, touch, proximity, and haptic/auditory cues. The system combines spatial audio, controller-based light and sound, and vibration cues. Our demo showcases a playable XR experience highlighting how children interpret non-visual agents in XR, how they express possible action–reaction loops, and how multisensory feedback supports their meaning‑making.

Child–Computer Interaction seeks to support young people in critically engaging with technology through the Computational Empowerment (CE) research agenda. Recently, Transformative Agency has been proposed as a framework for understanding how CE can lead to action. This work-in-progress paper presents preliminary reflections of a cross-case analysis of two middle school interventions using activism-oriented learning to foster TA. We observed that while students demonstrated strong engagement, their possibilities for action remained bounded. Learning designs both enabled and constrained participation, personal relevance supported critique but not action, and making often remained symbolic. We argue for reconnecting CE with participatory design’s political roots by designing for situated action where students can meaningfully influence their everyday sociotechnical contexts.

Figure 1: Various game-based activities in two different special education classes.A & B: 4th graders sketching themselves playing their favorite game.C: Brainstorming games in 6th grade.D: 4th graders playing a physical math game.

We report how designers support active engagement of neurodiverse children (13 -16 y.o.) in participatory design (PD) through “Design Partnering”. Design partnering denotes a process in which neurodiverse children are teamed up with neurotypical peers to help them overcome cognitive, social, and relational barriers and thus make their engagement more active during design. We contribute with studies of design partnering in three different PD activities: Field studies, Ideation, and Prototyping. We map out the opportunities and challenges we faced in our study when applying design partnering in PD research. We discuss our findings to lay out future studies to be conducted in Child-Computer Interaction research to provide more knowledge on the potentiality and challenges of design partnering in PD.