The Children in the Centre (CiC) framework, introduced in this paper, facilitates successful multidisciplinary research and design collaboration in computer science and special education with partners in non-academic contexts. The CiC framework emphasizes the active role of children and their families in the research and design processes. Practical tips for including children with special needs in the design and development of technologies are also described.

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The increasing number of children who need special education in Finland also requires an increasing amount of resources from teachers and a restructuring of the education system. Technology can be a part of the solution to this resource problem; however, for the technological solution to work, technologies need to be designed and implemented in new ways. Technologies used in special education in Finland can roughly be divided into four main categories; assistive technologies, communication technologies, and learning software. Last and the newest category concretizing technologies, such as educational robotics, have successfully been used in the Technologies for Children with Individual Needs Project. Possibilities provided by educational robotics have been extensive, not only because of the technology itself, but also because of how the technology has been implemented in innovative projects with school students. From this point of view, students with individual educational needs as well as those involved in inclusive education and harmonized school days could benefit from the use of technology.

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