Accessibility · EdTech · Inclusive Design

Saksham

An accessibility-first learning library for neurodivergent students in India. I took it from research through high-fidelity design, then coded it into a live web version I'm still expanding, published along the way in the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) 2026 Journal. The reframe that shaped it: I set out to build a learning app and realized I was designing a way for children to feel capable.

My Role

Designer, Researcher & Developer

Type

Design + Live Coded Build

Timeline

2024 – present · Live & expanding

Tools

Figma · Illustrator · HTML/CSS/JS

Live Figma prototype · tap through the screens to explore the flow

WEB

Open the live library

Working product, six languages

At a glance

The challenge

Neurodivergent students in India had almost no learning tools designed for how they actually read, focus, and process information.

What I did

As sole designer, researcher, and developer, I owned it end to end, from field research in India through the high-fidelity design to the front-end code that shipped the live library.

The outcome

A live, accessible reading library in six languages that I'm still expanding, with the research published in the TAGA 2026 Journal.

Introduction

Designing for neurodiversity in
Indian education.

40 students, no tools, one teaching style: the gap Saksham was built to close.

During an interview for this project, an educator in India told me something I couldn't stop thinking about: "I have 40 students and no tools. I know some of them learn differently, but all I can do is teach the same way and hope for the best." That sentence became the emotional foundation for everything I designed.

My role: Sole designer, researcher, and developer, end to end: research, interaction design, high-fidelity prototyping, usability testing, the front-end code of the live version, and the published TAGA 2026 paper.

In India, over 5 million children with learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, and autism face a system that wasn't built for them. Tools don't adapt to their cognition, interfaces overwhelm instead of support, and stigma means many go undiagnosed entirely.

Problem Statement

How might we create an experience that adapts to each learner's cognitive style?

Every tool these students had was built for a "default" learner, and none adapted to how they think.

I audited the tools these students actually use: Byju's, Duolingo, and government e-learning apps. Not one offered cognitive adaptation for neurodivergent learners; all were built for a "default" student: fast-paced, visually dense, text-heavy. For a child with dyslexia, these interfaces don't just fail to help, they create anxiety. The challenge became clear: design a learning experience that adapts to each learner's cognitive style while building independence and confidence, not just outcomes.

🧠

Visual Overload

Overstimulating visuals overwhelm students with ADHD or autism, making focused learning nearly impossible.

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Language Barriers

Tools often exclude regional languages, alienating rural students and limiting access to millions across India.

Research

The research that changed
what I thought I was designing.

I went in thinking I was designing a learning app. After interviewing educators, parents, and accessibility experts, I realized I was designing a way for children to feel capable. Every parent described the same pattern: their child wasn't struggling with the content. They were struggling with the interface.

How I researched Qualitative interviews (educators, parents, accessibility experts) Literature review Comparative analysis (Byju's, Duolingo, MS Learning Tools)

Meet the Users

I created personas based on real interviews to ground every design decision in human experience.

Bilal · 14 years old · Student with Dyslexia & ADHD

"Reading feels impossible sometimes. The words blur together, and I can't keep up with everyone else. I wish learning could work the way my brain does."

Meera · Educator · Inclusive Classroom Teacher

"I want to support every student, but I have 40 kids and no tools designed for differentiated instruction. I'm constantly improvising."

Published Research

This research culminated in my paper, "Designing for Neurodiversity: Accessibility in Educational Technology for India's Future Learners," published in the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) 2026 Journal.

Insights synthesis: connecting research findings to design opportunities

Research insights synthesis showing key findings from user interviews and literature review

Design Process

From empathy to
interactive prototype.

Five stages from interviews to a tested prototype, each refined against educator and parent feedback.

Empathize

Built personas from real interviews, Bilal (14, dyslexia and ADHD) and Meera (a teacher with no tools to differentiate), to ground every decision.

Define

The brief: visual simplicity to cut cognitive load, multi-sensory learning (audio, visual, tactile), customization of reading speed, font, and contrast, and self-paced, gamified progress.

Ideate

Explored concepts in Figma mind maps and low-fi wireframes: a voice-guided reading assistant, emotion-based feedback, and a confidence-building reward system.

Low-fidelity wireframes: early layout explorations for the mobile learning app

Low-fidelity wireframes showing early layout explorations for the Saksham app

Prototype

Built interactive Figma wireframes: a customizable dashboard (OpenDyslexic type), a guided reading mode with narration and text highlighting, and offline access for low-connectivity regions.

Test

Testing with educators and parents drove refinements: simpler navigation, voice cues for non-readers, and reduced motion to prevent overstimulation.

Design Decisions

Three choices I had to defend
against my own instincts.

Three times the obvious design move was wrong, and research showed why.

Each one was a moment where the obvious move turned out to be wrong, usually because educators and parents pushed back on assumptions I hadn't realized I was making.

Emotion-tracking AI, or proactive customization?

My first concept was an AI that watched the child's face and adapted to detected frustration. Parents recoiled: "I don't want an app watching my child's face." I cut the tracker and replaced it with upfront customization, letting students set reading speed, font, contrast, and motion themselves, with no algorithm in the loop.

No flashy AI hook. Accepted because the more "intelligent" the system tried to be, the less control the child had, and control was the entire point.

Calm, or clinical?

My first prototype took "visual simplicity" literally: stripped color, minimal illustration. An educator told me it felt clinical. I rebuilt around warm, high-saturation accents on a calm base. Joy lives in color and character; calm lives in restraint and space.

More illustration debt than a minimalist version. Worth it. The goal wasn't to look accessible; it was to feel inviting to a kid who's been told they're behind.

Customization as feature, or as foundation?

Most educational apps bury customization in a settings menu. Educators kept describing the same moment: when a neurodivergent child realized they could change the app's pace, font, or color, their relationship to the tool flipped. I moved customization into onboarding as the first interaction: font (including OpenDyslexic), pace, and color world chosen before any content loads.

Slower time-to-first-lesson, and an upfront ask from a child whose attention may already be fragile. Mitigated with playful micro-interactions and a "skip to defaults" path.

Accessibility

Every accessibility choice,
and who it is for.

Accessibility was the brief, not a checklist bolted on at the end. Each choice below traces to a specific need I heard in research and the learner it protects: content you can perceive more than one way, and control that stays with the student.

🔤

Dyslexia-readable type

OpenDyslexic offered as a first-class option, with adjustable font and size, so a child who watches words blur can reshape the text instead of fighting it.

🎚️

Learner-set contrast and color

Contrast, color world, and reading pace are set by the student, not locked by the app. That control is the mechanism that turns anxiety into confidence.

🔊

Introducing Saksham.

"Saksham" means "capable." Every feature traces to a research finding, nothing decorative.

The customizable dashboard, because children shut down when they can't control their environment; guided reading, because educators called audio reinforcement the most effective intervention they'd seen; offline access, because 60% of India's rural students lack reliable internet.

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Customizable Dashboard

Learners select preferred colors, fonts (including OpenDyslexic), and layout, making the interface truly their own.

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Guided Reading Mode

Audio narration with synchronized text highlighting supports reading comprehension across ability levels.

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Offline Functionality

Full learning access without internet, critical for low-connectivity regions across rural India.

Impact

From a personal project to a
live, growing library.

A passion project became a published paper and a live product I keep expanding.

The research earned publication for its rigorous, human-centered framework for designing accessible educational technology where very little exists, and I took it further, coding the design into a live web library I keep expanding.

Live

a coded reading library in six languages that I'm still expanding, free and account-free in the browser

5M+

neurodivergent students in India underserved by current learning tools: the problem scale this research addresses

Published

in the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) 2026 Journal, recognizing its contribution to inclusive design

The built product

Saksham is more than a proposed design. I coded it into a live, working reading library: word-synced read-aloud through the Web Speech API, dyslexia-friendly type, learner-set contrast and motion, and passages in six languages, with no accounts and everything kept in your browser. It's live today, and I'm still expanding it.

View the code on GitHub →

"I was really interested in your project that was listed on the GRC database."

TAGA Journal Editor · Technical Association of the Graphic Arts

Reflection & Next Steps

What I got wrong,
what I'd change.

My biggest blind spot was leaning too heavily on parents and educators as proxies instead of getting enough direct input from the children themselves. Ethical constraints around involving minors made deeper participation harder, and there's a real gap between what adults report and what children experience. Deeper, structured participatory design with children is the essential next step.

To pressure-test Saksham beyond my own assumptions, I partnered with New Grace English School in India. I met with their teachers about what neurodivergent learners in their classrooms actually needed, and taught a session with their students using the tool. Seeing it work in a real classroom, rather than a usability lab, is what convinced me the accessibility choices were landing, and it is shaping where Saksham goes next.

Accessibility isn't a feature you add at the end; it's a lens that shapes every decision from the start. Taking this from a personal question to published research and a shipped, growing tool made me a more thoughtful designer on every project since.

Looking Ahead

🤝

NGO Collaboration

Build on the New Grace English School pilot to reach more classrooms with Indian NGOs.

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AI-Driven Personalization

Integrate AI for real-time learning support, adapting content difficulty and presentation based on individual progress.

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Cross-Cultural Research

Expand research on cross-cultural inclusivity in educational UX beyond the Indian context.

Next Project

Nexstera Tech: Redesigning for Climate Impact

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Saksham

Designing for neurodiversity inIndian education.

How might we create an experience that adapts to each learner's cognitive style?

The research that changedwhat I thought I was designing.