WellBe: Participatory design and development of a smartwatch application for neurodivergent adults’ emotional regulation

Emotional regulation strongly impacts the well-being of neurodivergent (ND) people. While studies have explored technologies to support emotion regulation for NDs at a young age, few have taken participatory approaches involving ND adults across the design process to ground design decisions based on their real-life settings. To explore how wearable technologies can support ND adults’ emotional regulation, we conducted an interview study with 20 ND supporters who provide intervention to help NDs manage emotional regulation (S1A) and a 14-week participatory workshop with 13 NDs (S1B). S1A findings emphasized the need for “just-in-time” interventions, customizable designs, and appropriate terminology. S1B informed how S1A’s insights can be instantiated to a smartwatch application. A 90-day study with four participants (S2) was conducted to evaluate how WellBe, developed from S1 findings, can provide better assistance to approach emotional dysregulation for ND adults. S2 findings show that participants used WellBe in everyday contexts (e.g., routine disruptions, work stress, and interpersonal conflicts), and that longer-term in-the-wild use surfaced needs for personalization, lightweight reflection, and social support. We contribute implications for future design and methodological considerations for ND emotional regulation technologies.