Personalized Recommendation of PoIs to People with Autism

The suggestion of Points of Interest to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) challenges recommender systems research because these users' perception of places is influenced by idiosyncratic sensory aversions which can mine their experience by causing stress and anxiety. Therefore, managing individual preferences is not enough to provide these people with suitable recommendations. In order to address this issue, we propose a Top-N recommendation model that combines the user's idiosyncratic aversions with her/his preferences in a personalized way to suggest the most compatible and likable Points of Interest for her/him. We are interested in finding a user-specific balance of compatibility and interest within a recommendation model that integrates heterogeneous evaluation criteria to appropriately take these aspects into account. We tested our model on both ASD and "neurotypical" people. The evaluation results show that, on both groups, our model outperforms in accuracy and ranking capability the recommender systems based on item compatibility, on user preferences, or which integrate these two aspects by means of a uniform evaluation model

Participatory Methods to Engage Autistic People in the Design of Digital Technology: A Systematic Literature Review

Purpose Many technology designers strive to involve end users in the design process, aiming to produce better outcomes. However, designers may struggle to engage autistic users effectively due to a lack of understanding of autistic characteristics and preferences. This systematic literature review aimed to identify how autistic adolescents and adults can best be engaged in effective participatory design activities. Methods Seven databases were searched for articles reporting technology design involving autistic people, returning 276 results. Using the PRISMA approach, 258 were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria. The remaining 18 articles were then quality assessed. Results A thematic analysis revealed five core themes: (1) Engagement: the importance of investment in, and ownership of, the design process to create engagement, (2) Relationships: building relationships through collaboration and careful facilitation, (3) Skills development: the development of personal skills such as teamwork, design and self-advocacy in order to grow confidence, (4) Structure: providing context and structure to make the design experience feel safe and predictable, and (5) Support: the importance of support and consideration of individual needs as well as discouraging negative behaviours. Conclusion Valuing participants as equal partners in design emerged as an, arguably, universal principle. The specific needs and preferences of autistic people must be understood and respected by designers. This goes beyond obvious accommodations such as providing a quiet and safe environment, and requires a deeper, more personal engagement with the individuals and their interests. We provide tangible recommendations for increasing engagement and aiding the design process