Interactive Technologies For Autism

This book provides an in-depth review of the historical and state-of-the-art use of technology by and for individuals with autism. The design, development, deployment, and evaluation of interactive technologies for use by and with individuals with autism have been rapidly increasing over the last few decades. There is great promise for the use of these technologies to enrich lives, improve the experience of interventions, help with learning, facilitate communication, support data collection, and promote understanding. Emerging technologies in this area also have the potential to enhance assessment and diagnosis of autism, to understand the nature and lived experience of autism, and to help researchers conduct basic and applied research. The intention of this book is to give readers a comprehensive background for understanding what work has already been completed and its impact as well as what promises and challenges lie ahead. A large majority of existing technologies have been designed for autistic children, there is increased interest in technology’s intersection with the lived experiences of autistic adults. By providing a classification scheme and general review, this book can help technology designers, researchers, autistic people, and their advocates better understand how technologies have been successful or unsuccessful, what problems remain open, and where innovations can further address challenges and opportunities for individuals with autism and the variety of stakeholders connected to them.

This book provides an in-depth review of the historical and state-of-the-art use of technology by and for individuals with autism. The design, development, deployment, and evaluation of interactive technologies for use by and with individuals with autism have been rapidly increasing over the last few decades. There is great promise for the use of these technologies to enrich lives, improve the experience of interventions, help with learning, facilitate communication, support data collection, and promote understanding. Emerging technologies in this area also have the potential to enhance assessment and diagnosis of autism, to understand the nature and lived experience of autism, and to help researchers conduct basic and applied research. The intention of this book is to give readers a comprehensive background for understanding what work has already been completed and its impact as well as what promises and challenges lie ahead. A large majority of existing technologies have been designed for autistic children, there is increased interest in technology’s intersection with the lived experiences of autistic adults. By providing a classification scheme and general review, this book can help technology designers, researchers, autistic people, and their advocates better understand how technologies have been successful or unsuccessful, what problems remain open, and where innovations can further address challenges and opportunities for individuals with autism and the variety of stakeholders connected to them.

Development, deployment, and evaluation of interactive technologies for individuals with autism have been rapidly increasing over the last decade. There is great promise for the use of these types of technologies to enrich interventions, facilitate communication, and support data collection. Emerging technologies in this area also have the potential to enhance assessment and diagnosis of individuals with autism, to understand the nature of autism, and to help researchers conduct basic and applied research. This book provides an in-depth review of the historical and state-of-the-art use of technology by and for individuals with autism. The intention is to give readers a comprehensive background in order to understand what has been done and what promises and challenges lie ahead. By providing a classification scheme and general review, this book can also help technology designers and researchers better understand what technologies have been successful, what problems remain open, and where innovations can further address challenges and opportunities for individuals with autism and the variety of stakeholders connected to them.

Development, deployment, and evaluation of interactive technologies for individuals with autism have been rapidly increasing over the last decade. There is great promise for the use of these types of technologies to enrich interventions, facilitate communication, and support data collection. Emerging technologies in this area also have the potential to enhance assessment and diagnosis of individuals with autism, to understand the nature of autism, and to help researchers conduct basic and applied research. This book provides an in-depth review of the historical and state-of-the-art use of technology by and for individuals with autism. The intention is to give readers a comprehensive background in order to understand what has been done and what promises and challenges lie ahead. By providing a classification scheme and general review, this book can also help technology designers and researchers better understand what technologies have been successful, what problems remain open, and where innovations can further address challenges and opportunities for individuals with autism and the variety of stakeholders connected to them.

This book first explains autism, its prevalence, and some conventional intervention techniques, and it then describes how virtual reality technology can support autism intervention and skills training. The approaches and technologies covered include immersive virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. The tasks covered include emotion recognition, affective computing, teaching communication skills, imparting literacy skills, training for imitation skills, and joint attention skills. Most of the chapters assume no prerequisite knowledge of autism or virtual reality, and they are supported throughout with detailed references for further investigation. While the author is an engineer by profession, with specialist knowledge in robotics and computer-based platforms, in this book she adopts a user perspective and cites many real-life examples from her own experience. The book is suitable for students of cognitive science, and researchers and practitioners engaged with designing and offering technological assistance for special needs training.

Your in-depth guided tour of technologies that support learners with autism and help them fully participate in their classroom and community.

International interest in the use of assistive and ambient information and communication technologies to support people with a range of cognitive impairments is growing rapidly. Autism spectrum disorders ASDs, which affect social skills, communicative abilities and behavior, are of particular interest. The number of diagnosed cases has continued to grow in recent decades, and the impairments associated with ASDs mean individuals affected are at risk of social isolation and marginalization. Although helping people with autism to overcome their difficulties has always required the joint expertise of various fields, the widely shared

International interest in the use of assistive and ambient information and communication technologies to support people with a range of cognitive impairments is growing rapidly. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which affect social skills, communicative abilities and behavior, are of particular interest. The number of diagnosed cases has continued to grow in recent decades, and the impairments associated with ASDs mean individuals affected are at risk of social isolation and marginalization. Although helping people with autism to overcome their difficulties has always required the joint expertise of various fields, the widely shared view is that innovative ICT may hold the key to more efficient support and intervention in the near future. This book summarizes the results and conclusions of HANDS, an international research and development project supported by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission. The aim of the HANDS project was to develop and test a smartphone-based cognitive support system for intellectually able young people with ASDs, with a focus on use in secondary school environments. The results presented here include the HANDS system: a partly mobile, partly web-based cognitive support system based on principles of Persuasive Design; a unique multi-mode research methodology, applying both various quantitative and qualitative techniques to test the applicability and efficiency of the system; an exploration of relevant conceptual issues from the point of view of Persuasive Design and its philosophical foundations; a mapping of key ethical issues related to developing and applying mobile ICT for individuals with autism and other cognitive impairments. The experiences of teachers who implemented the system in school environments are also summarized. These results can be seen as snapshots of an evolutionary process, but the conclusions drawn here are significant for future developments with mobile assistive technology for people with ASD, as well as for other conditions. The book will be of interest to professionals working with young people with ASD, human-computer interaction professionals, as well as others working in the broader field of mobile assistive technology.