Assistive Technologies and Design for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders

2022 ◽  
pp. 48-70
Author(s):  
Denise Gulino

This chapter has the aim to provide a concise overview of which assistive technology tools can be used to implement interventions for people with autism spectrum disorders and what developers and designers must take into account when they want to approach to the development of these technologies. Four areas of intervention have been identified: (1) treatment of phobias, (2) social interactions, (3) academic skills, (4) job performance. Ten contributions have been reviewed for a total of 216 participants. Positive results and limits of various studies have been identified. In each session a specific technology will be analyzed, and some general guidelines will be provided. Some suggestions will be emphasized for future research.

Author(s):  
Fabrizio Stasolla ◽  
Alessandro O. Caffò ◽  
Viviana Perilli

This chapter emphasizes a selective overview of the newest empirical contributions available in the literature within the last decade (i.e., 2008-2019) regarding the use of assistive technology for the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in daily settings. According to the including and excluding criteria, 40 studies were retained and grouped in five main categories, namely (1) communication skills, (2) adaptive and/or social skills, (3) life skills, (4) challenging behaviors, and (5) academic performance. The first aim of the chapter was to outline strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned studies. The second objective of the chapter was to provide some practical and illustrative examples of assistive technology-based programs aimed at the integration of children with ASD in daily settings. Finally, the third purpose was to discuss the findings pointing out some useful guidelines for future research and practice. Results were fairly positive, although some failure occurred. Clinical, educational, psychological, and rehabilitative implications were critically discussed.


Author(s):  
Fabrizio Stasolla ◽  
Adele Boccasini ◽  
Viviana Perilli

This chapter provides readers with an overview regarding empirical evidences available in the literature within the last decade (i.e., 2005-2015) concerning the use of assistive technology for children with autism spectrum disorders. According to the including and excluding criteria, 36 studies were retained and grouped in four main categories, namely: (a) communication skills, (b) adaptive and/or social skills, (c) life skills, and (d) challenge behaviors. The first aim of the chapter was to outline strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned studies. The second objective of the chapter was to emphasize practical applications of assistive technology-based programs. Finally, the third purpose was to discuss the findings pointing out some useful guidelines for future research. Results were fairly positive, although some failures occurred. Clinical, educational, psychological and rehabilitative implications were also discussed.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Leila Goosen

The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with an overview of the latest research on assistive technologies, especially as related to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). While introducing and describing the general perspective of the chapter as specifically focusing on objectives in terms of children and adolescents with ASDs, background that summarizes the content of this chapter as also consisting of significant results with regard to young and older adults as well as references to other connected conditions will be included. Issues, problems, and challenges in this regard are presented, together with possible solutions and recommendations, future research directions, and concluding remarks.


Author(s):  
Sarah N. Douglas ◽  
Yan Shi ◽  
Saptarshi Das ◽  
Subir Biswas

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to develop appropriate social skills, which can lead to later social rejection, isolation, and mental health concerns. Educators play an important role in supporting and monitoring social skill development for children with ASD, but the tools used by educators are often tedious, lack suitable sensitivity, provide limited information to plan interventions, and are time-consuming. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the use of a sensor system to measure social proximity between three children with ASD and their peers in an inclusive preschool setting. We compared video-coded data with sensor data using point-by-point agreement to measure the accuracy of the sensor system. Results suggest that the sensor system can adequately measure social proximity between children with ASD and their peers. The next steps for sensor system validation are discussed along with clinical and educational implications, limitations, and future research directions.


Author(s):  
Francisco Alcantud ◽  
Yurena Alonso ◽  
Javier Coret ◽  
Esteban Jiménez

This chapter discusses assistive technologies applied in people with autism spectrum disorders and how these technologies promote their adaptation. We analyzed different technological application areas such as detection, assessment, diagnosis, intervention, training, learning, environment control, communication, mobility, and access. In recent years there has been a notable increase of publications and works related to the use of assistive technologies applied to Autism Spectrum Disorders. While most of the publications present novel systems, devices, and applications (smartphones, tablets, robots, avatars, etc.), general evaluation of the results is insufficient. Future lines of research are targeted to realize intelligent environments in order to integrate all knowledge and technological developments made in recent years.


Author(s):  
Н.В. Соловьева ◽  
С.В. Чаусова ◽  
И.В. Кичук ◽  
Е.В. Макарова

Расстройства аутистического спектра (РАС) являются сложной группой нейропсихиатрических заболеваний с точки зрения этиопатогенеза. В основе нейрональных нарушений, приводящих к аутистической симптоматике, лежат дисфункции сигнальных путей. Согласно последним исследованиям одним из наиболее значимых сигнальных путей в развитии данной группы заболеваний является кальциевый сигнальный путь. Кальциевая сигнализация тесно связана с такими сигнальными путями, как MAPK-, Wnt-, PI3K/AKT/mTOR-, нарушение в работе которых приводит к нарушениям серотонинергической, дофаминергической, опиоидной, холинергической, глутаматергической, ГАМКергической передачи и влечет за собой эксайтотоксичность за счёт гиперактивации NMDA- и AMPA-рецепторов, повреждение и гибель нейронов. Все эти процессы в нейрональных клетках напрямую связаны с формированием долговременного потенцирования и депрессии, а нарушения в этих клетках приводят к дисфункции базисных психических процессов. С клинической точки зрения кальциевый сигнальный путь может стать одной из основных мишеней для фармакологической коррекции симптоматических проявлений РАС. Очевидно, что дальнейшие исследования на животных моделях и электрофизиологические клинические исследования необходимы для понимания патогенетических особенностей развития РАС, а также какое именно место занимает сигнальный путь Ca 2+ в данных состояниях. Дальнейшие исследования необходимы, для прояснения потенциальной роли сигнализации Ca 2+в изменениях социального или стериотипического поведении пациентов, что является основной обенностью РАС. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neuropsychiatric diseases with a complex etiopathogenesis. Neuronal disorders leading to autistic symptoms are determined by dysfunction of signaling pathways. Recent studies have demonstrated that the calcium signaling pathway is one of the major significant pathways for this group of disorders. Calcium signaling is closely linked to MAPK-, Wnt-, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR -pathways, which abnormalities lead to dysfunction of serotonergic, dopaminergic, opioidergic, cholinergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic transmission and result in excitotoxicity due to hyperactivation of NMDA and AMPA receptors and neuronal damage and death. These processes in neuronal cells are associated with formation of long-term potentiation and depression, and disturbances in these cells lead to failure of basic mental processes. From a clinical point of view, the calcium signaling pathway can become one of major targets for the pharmacological treatment of symptomatic ASD. Obviously, further animal studies and electrophysiological human studies are required for understanding pathogenetic mechanisms of ASD and the contribution of Ca 2+ signaling. Future research will clarify a potential role of Ca 2+ signaling in social or stereotypic behavior, which constitutes a main feature of ADS.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theoneste Ntalindwa ◽  
Mathias Nduwingoma ◽  
Evariste Karangwa ◽  
Tanjir Rashid Soron ◽  
Alphonse Uworwabayeho ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in education promising from decades ago. There has been rapid development of different ICT tools to improve the quality of life of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the process of developing a user friendly and effective tool such as mobile application needs to follow complex standard protocol, culture-sensitive customization, and multisectoral involvements. This complex work becomes more challenging for children with ASD in Low and Middle-Income Countries. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop a user-friendly mobile application for children with autism to improve numeracy skills in Rwanda. METHODS The application was developed through participatory action research involving educators and human-computer interaction researchers, subject matter expert clinicians, and target users. A comprehensive beta testing version of the application was developed that considered educators' feedback from focus groups, and observations of children with ASD when using the application. RESULTS In the findings of this study, the participants suggested three points to consider when designing the interface for children with ASD. (1) Graphic design principals, (2) User interface design, and (3) Success recognition and messages. The mobile application is believed to assist parents and educators to train and educate children with ASD to be able to learn, memorize and recognize the numbers that figure on coins used in Rwandan currency and participate in different economic activities in their families. CONCLUSIONS Overall, it has become clear that it is possible to develop mobile applications that respond to the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders to eliminate the barrier of learning mathematical skills. Empowering skills of the use of ICT in teaching and support of learners with ASD inclusive environment can also bring the idea of features to be added into the developed application. This underscores the relevance of the needs of more assistive technologies to be developed in the response of each societal problems


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