Human-Centered Design with Autistic University Students: Interface, Interaction and Information Preferences

This paper reports on a study aimed at creating an online support toolkit for young autistic people to navigate the transition from school to university, thereby empowering this group in developing their full potential. It is part of the Autism&Uni project, a European-funded initiative to widen access to Higher Education for students on the autism spectrum. Our particular focus is on the Human-Computer Interaction elements of the toolkit, namely the visual design of the interface, the nature of interactions and navigation, and the information architecture. Past research in this area tended to focus on autistic children, often with learning difficulties, and their preferences in terms of interface and interaction design. Our research revealed that the preferences of young autistic adults who are academically competent and articulate, differ considerably from those of autistic children. Key findings are that text is preferred over visual material; visual design should be minimal; content ought to be organized in a logical and hierarchical manner; the tone of language ought to be genuine yet not too negative or patronizing; and images or video are only useful if they illustrate places or people, in other words information that cannot easily be conveyed in other ways

A Proposed Process for Risk Mitigation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Recent executive orders have led some Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers to interpret themselves as “essential personnel” during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we argue against a blanket interpretation that being labeled “essential personnel” means that all in person ABA services for all clients should continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe this argument holds even if ABA providers are not in a jurisdiction currently under an active shelter at home or related order. First, we provide a brief description of risks associated with continued in person ABA service delivery as well as risks associated with the temporary suspension or transition to remote ABA service delivery. For many clients, continued in person service delivery carries a significant risk of severe harm to the client, their family and caregivers, the staff, and a currently overburdened healthcare system. In these situations, ABA providers should temporarily suspend services or transition to telehealth or other forms of remote service delivery until information from federal, state, and local healthcare experts deem in person contact safe. In rare cases, temporary suspension or transition to remote service delivery may place the client or others at risk of significant harm. In these situations in person services should likely continue and ongoing assessment and risk mitigation are essential