Neuro Nøglen

Many children and teens are first diagnosed with so-called “developmental disorders” (e.g. autism or ADHD) very late in school, or are not detected at all. With the resources, education and limited time in everyday life that a teacher has right now, these children become lost in the system. My goal with this project was to find a way to give school teachers simple tools to spot them, better understand them, and thus ensure both a better future for the children and a better classroom for the teachers; Neuro Nøglen (The Neuro Key) is the result.

Neuro Nøglen focuses on school situations, transitioning to a more positive use of language, and poking holes in negative prejudices. There are differences in symptoms for boys and girls, and several lesser-known symptoms can often be overlooked. Neuo Nøglen’s symptom cards are “playing cards” that present symptoms on one side, without showing the potential diagnosis on the other side. The cards, with the symptom side up, are spread out on the table, so that the teacher (possibly in collaboration with parents) can consider the student without bias about the different diagnoses. If a student shows several signs of the same diagnosis, there may be grounds for further investigation.

The goal of the project is a tool that supports teachers specifically, since through them and the new knowledge they gain, we can also support neurodivergent children in the classroom. It can also be used as a supportive tool in early conversations with parents.