Interaction Framing

Interaction framing refers to the way a system positions the user's role and the meaning of their input, independent of the underlying mechanics. The same choice can be framed as completing a task ("select the appropriate response") or as taking a meaningful action inside a narrative ("how do you want to say goodbye?"), and the framing influences whether the user is positioned as a responder or an interpreter. In accessibility design, framing matters because many disability-focused interventions, particularly for autistic children and people with cognitive disabilities, default to instruction-driven framings that cast users as prompt-followers, suppressing initiative and agency. Narrative framing, choice-based interaction, and non-punitive meaning-driven feedback are common alternatives that aim to preserve user agency while still scaffolding the activity.