A designer's approach: How can autistic adults with learning disabilities be involved in the design process?

Autistic adults with limited speech and additional learning disabilities who are often excluded from design research are at the heart of this project. These are people whose perceptions, experiences and interactions with their surroundings are unique, but also are people who may not be able to communicate verbally their differences to the remaining 99% of the population. This, in combination with their distinctive cognitive profile, has resulted in a lack of studies involving people living with autism, and consequently their life experiences may neither be heard nor understood and remain largely unexplored. By reflecting upon the ongoing design collaboration between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and the autism charity The Kingwood Trust, this paper reflects on the approach and methods used in three design studies. Particular attention is paid towards the careful selection, adaptation and development of collaborative design methods for autistic adults and their support staff to be involved. By working beyond the boundaries of a neurotypical culture, the project aims to support the greater goal of improving the everyday experiences of people living with autism by breaking down the barriers to participation

Designing Technology for Children with Special Needs - Bridging Perspectives through Participatory Design

This article presents and discusses co-creation techniques for involving children in the design of a technologically enhanced learning environment. The ECHOES project, which involves both typically developing children and children with autism spectrum conditions, aims to create an environment that scaffolds the development of children's social skills. The authors draw attention to the constraints and limitations of co-designing new technologies, which are by necessity interdisciplinary, and describe experiments with sensory interest and storytelling to bridge tensions between system design and the imaginary worlds of young children. Related work is reviewed, where children with special needs have been included in the design process, and a series of design activities implemented in ECHOES is described. Reflecting on these experiences, key themes are identified that may be of interest to practitioners and researchers who work with children in inclusive design contexts. These themes address the role of theory, the impact of technology, the support of creativity, the validity of inspiration and the design of non-digital generative tools to harness children's imagination. The article also includes a discussion on the ethical implications of co-designing with children and describes how the project evolved as a consequence of the work described

Developing technology for autism: an interdisciplinary approach

We present an interdisciplinary methodology for designing interactive multi-modal technology for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In line with many other researchers in the field, we believe that the key to developing technology in this context is to embrace perspectives from diverse disciplines to arrive at a methodology that delivers satisfactory outcomes for all stakeholders. The ECHOES project provided us with the opportunity to develop a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environment that facilitates acquisition and exploration of social skills by typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). ECHOES’ methodology and the learning environment rely crucially on multi-disciplinary expertise including developmental psychology, visual arts, human–computer interaction, artificial intelligence, education, and several other cognate disciplines. In this article, we reflect on the methods needed to develop a TEL environment for young users with ASDs by identifying key features, benefits, and challenges of this approach

Developing technology for autism:an interdisciplinary approach

We present an interdisciplinary methodology for designing interactive multi-modal technology for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In line with many other researchers in the field, we believe that the key to developing technology in this context is to embrace perspectives from diverse disciplines to arrive at a methodology that delivers satisfactory outcomes for all stakeholders. The ECHOES project provided us with the opportunity to develop a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environment that facilitates acquisition and exploration of social skills by typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). ECHOES’ methodology and the learning environment rely crucially on multi-disciplinary expertise including developmental psychology, visual arts, human–computer interaction, artificial intelligence, education, and several other cognate disciplines. In this article, we reflect on the methods needed to develop a TEL environment for young users with ASDs by identifying key features, benefits, and challenges of this approach

Impact of interaction paradigms on full-body interaction collocated experiences for promoting social initiation and collaboration

This article addresses the design and study of novel interaction settings and systems supporting collocated interaction. More specifically, we aim to analyze the implications of two different interaction approaches, namely first-person and third-person interaction paradigms, and the corresponding theoretical approaches when designing and developing collocated experiences for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This analysis is supported by the outcomes of several examples of full-body interaction collocated experiences aimed at promoting social initiation and collaboration. Moreover, we present a series of goal-driven guidelines to consider when designing with various interaction paradigms. Finally, we discuss future work to better understand the implications of constructing paradigms for the intuitive use of these full-body interaction systems.Pico’s Adventure project was funded by the European Commission through the M4ALL project (Project no 531219-LLP-1-2012-1-IT-KA3-KA3MP). Lands of Fog was funded by Fundació La Caixa through the RecerCaixa 2013 grants; Fundación Bancaria Caixa d’Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona