Support is set by the barrier, not by the label
Last updated: August 2026
In one sentence
A teacher or parent sets a functional profile describing the barrier a learner meets. The interface reconfigures around it. No student is ever asked to name, select, or disclose a disability category to receive a support.
The same screen, four profiles
These are not mock-ups. Each column is what the regulation engine actually returns for that profile: which tool is offered first, the minimum touch target, the type scale, and whether motion runs.
| Profile | Barrier it addresses | First tool offered | Touch target | Text | Motion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensory-friendlyVisual schedule shown | Sensory input is overwhelming. | Fidget tool | 64px | 1.10× | Off |
| Focus supportVisual schedule and task chunker shown | Starting and sequencing a task is the hard part. | Movement break | 56px | 1.00× | Normal |
| Calm and interoceptionBody-based tools first | Reading and settling one’s own body state is the hard part. | Breathing exercise | 64px | 1.15× | Reduced |
| Not setHouse defaults, no adaptation | No adult has configured a profile yet. | Breathing exercise | 64px | 1.00× | Reduced |
Two rules the software cannot break
Reorder, never hide. All twelve regulation tools are present in every profile. A profile changes which one is offered first, and nothing else. Gating a tool behind a profile would make the software decide what a child is capable of wanting, which is the opposite of presuming competence. An earlier version dropped the non-matching tools; that was removed as a defect, not tuned as a preference.
When no profile is set, say so. The fourth row above is not a fallback dressed up as a recommendation. An internal audit found that an unconfigured learner was silently receiving the calm-and-interoception variant, because the tie-breaking rule resolved a blank profile into a clinical one. A blank profile carries no information about a child, so the engine now reports exactly that and applies house defaults, keeping the roomier 64px target rather than the denser one.
Why it is built this way
Making a disability category salient before a task depresses performance (Steele & Aronson, 1995), and a label can reduce achievement independently of ability (Shifrer, 2013). The World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning (2001) reframes description from diagnosis toward functional capacity. Organising a product the same way means a learner can take up a support without first having to account for themselves.
The full bibliography is on our research page.
What this page is not
Functional profiles are a design decision about how support is offered. They are not an assessment, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for professional judgment. IncluShift is an educational tool. Its methods are informed by peer-reviewed research; the product itself has not been evaluated in a controlled study.