Feel and Touch: A Haptic Mobile Game to Assess Tactile Processing

Haptic interfaces have great potential for assessing the tactile processing of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), an area that has been under-explored due to the lack of tools to assess it. Until now, haptic interfaces for children have mostly been used as a teaching or therapeutic tool, so there are still open questions about how they could be used to assess tactile processing of children with ASD. This article presents the design process that led to the development of Feel and Touch, a mobile game augmented with vibrotactile stimuli to assess tactile processing. Our feasibility evaluation, with 5 children from 3 to 6 years old, shows that children accept vibrations and are able to use the proposed vibrotactile patterns. However, it is still necessary to work on the instructions to make the game dynamic clearer and rewards to keep the attention of children. We close this article by discussing future work and conclusions

Circus in Motion: A Multimodal Exergame Supporting Vestibular Therapy for Children with Autism

Exergames are serious games that involve physical exertion and are thought of as a form of exercise by using novel input models. Exergames are promising in improving the vestibular differences of children with autism but often lack of adaptation mechanisms that adjust the difficulty level of the exergame. In this paper, we present the design and development of Circus in Motion, a multimodal exergame supporting children with autism with the practice of non-locomotor movements. We describe how the data from a 3D depth camera enables the tracking of non-locomotor movements allowing children to naturally interact with the exergame . A controlled experiment with 12 children with autism shows Circus in Motion excels traditional vestibular therapies in increasing physical activation and the number of movements repetitions. We show how data from real-time usage of Circus in Motion could be used to feed a fuzzy logic model that can adjust the difficulty level of the exergame according to each childs motor performance. We close discussing open challenges and opportunities of multimodal exergames to support motor therapeutic interventions for children with autism in the long-term

BendableSound: An Elastic Multisensory Surface Using Touch-based interactions to Assist Children with Severe Autism During Music Therapy

Neurological Music Therapy uses live music to improve the sensorimotor regulation of children with severe autism. However, they often lack musical training and their impairments limit their interactions with musical instruments. In this paper, we present our co-design work that led to the BendableSound prototype: an elastic multisensory surface encouraging users to practice coordination movements when touching a fabric to play sounds. We present the results of a formative study conducted with 18 teachers showing BendableSound was perceived as “usable” and “attractive”. Then, we present a deployment study with 24 children with severe autism showing BendableSound is “easy to use” and may potentially have therapeutic benefits regarding attention and motor development. We propose a set of design insights that could guide the design of natural user interfaces, particularly elastic multisensory surfaces. We close with a discussion and directions for future work

Interactions of children and young adults using large-scale elastic displays

Elastic displays provide a unique and intuitive interaction and could be deployed at large-scale. As an emerging technology, open questions about the benefits large-scale elastic displays offer over rigid displays and their potential application to our everyday lives. In this paper, we present an overview of a 4-year project. First, we describe the development of a large-scale elastic display, called BendableSound. Second, we explain the results of a laboratory study, showing the elastic display has a better user and sensory experience than a rigid one. Third, we describe the results of two deployment studies showing how BendableSound could support the therapeutic practices of children with autism and the early development of toddlers. We close discussing open challenges to study the untapped potential of elastic displays in pervasive computing

Ionic dialysance allows an adequate estimate of urea distribution volume in hemodialysis patients

Ionic dialysance allows an adequate estimate of urea distribution volume in hemodialysis patients.BackgroundAn adequate estimation of urea distribution volume (V) in hemodialysis patients is useful to monitor protein nutrition. Direct dialysis quantification (DDQ) is the gold standard for determining V, but it is impractical for routine use because it requires equilibrated postdialysis plasma water urea concentration. The single pool variable volume urea kinetic model (SPVV-UKM), recommended as a standard by Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI), does not need a delayed postdialysis blood sample but it requires a correct estimate of dialyser urea clearance.MethodsIonic dialysance (ID) may accurately estimate dialyzer urea clearance corrected for total recirculation. Using ID as input to SPVV-UKM, correct V values are expected when end-dialysis plasma water urea concentrations are determined in the end-of-session blood sample taken with the blood pump speed reduced to 50 mL/min for two minutes (Upwt2′). The aim of this study was to determine whether the V values determined by means of SPVV-UKM, ID, and Upwt2′ (VID) are similar to those determined by the “gold standard” DDQ method (VDDQ). Eighty-two anuric hemodialysis patients were studied.ResultsVDDQ was 26.3 ± 5.2 L; VID was 26.5 ± 4.8 L. The (VID–VDDQ) difference was 0.2 ± 1.6 L, which is not statistically significant (P = 0.242). Anthropometric volume (VA) calculated using Watson equations was 33.6 ± 6.0 L. The (VA–VDDQ) difference was 7.3 ± 3.3 L, which is statistically significant (P < 0.001).ConclusionAnthropometric-based V values overestimate urea distribution volume calculated by DDQ and SPVV-UKM. ID allows adequate V values to be determined, and circumvents the problem of delayed postdialysis blood samples

Interactive sonification to assist children with autism during motor therapeutic interventions

Interactive sonification is an effective tool used to guide individuals when practicing movements. Little research has shown the use of interactive sonification in supporting motor therapeutic interventions for children with autism who exhibit motor impairments. The goal of this research is to study if children with autism understand the use of interactive sonification during motor therapeutic interventions, its potential impact of interactive sonification in the development of motor skills in children with autism, and the feasibility of using it in specialized schools for children with autism. We conducted two deployment studies in Mexico using Go-with-the-Flow, a framework to sonify movements previously developed for chronic pain rehabilitation. In the first study, six children with autism were asked to perform the forward reach and lateral upper-limb exercises while listening to three different sound structures (i.e., one discrete and two continuous sounds). Results showed that children with autism exhibit awareness about the sonification of their movements and engage with the sonification. We then adapted the sonifications based on the results of the first study, for motor therapy of children with autism. In the next study, nine children with autism were asked to perform upper-limb lateral, cross-lateral, and push movements while listening to five different sound structures (i.e., three discrete and two continues) designed to sonify the movements. Results showed that discrete sound structures engage the children in the performance of upper-limb movements and increase their ability to perform the movements correctly. We finally propose design considerations that could guide the design of projects related to interactive sonification

Supporting children with complex communication needs

Many children face significant challenges communicating, expressing themselves, and sharing their creative thoughts and ideas with others. Interactive technologies are playing an increasing role in addressing these challenges. This workshop will be an opportunity to discuss design, implementation, and evaluation methods, the needs of specific communities, as well as experiences in previous and current projects

Assisting Support Groups of Patients with Chronic Diseases through Persuasive Computing

Obesity has become a serious health problem affecting millions of people around the world. Obese people have a higher risk to attain chronic diseases, a reduced quality of life, and higher risk of premature death. Persuasive technology and virtual communities can help address these problems by motivating patients to follow a healthier life style. This paper presents the Persuasive Health Network (pHealthNet), a pervasive virtual community designed to promote a healthy lifestyle in patients with chronic degenerative diseases that participated in a national program for the prevention of diseases, education and self-care. The development and deployment of the system supports the program's goal of persuading patients to change their eating habits and to increase their physical activity. The system was incorporated in the program of two self-support groups whose participants are monitored for a period of three months. The results of an in situ evaluation showed that participants increased their trust in themselves, adopted healthier eating and exercising habits and where more satisfied with the program that those who followed the traditional approach

Understanding the Musical Interaction of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Elastic Display

Musical interaction greatly benefits children’s development. However, case studies reporting musical interactions with children, especially those with neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism spectrum disorders (ASD), are scarce and urgently needed. In this work, we present the results of a 2-month deployment study describing how 11 children with ASD used an elastic display called BendableSound. Our results show that children with ASD maintained their musical motivation over the course of the study. Also, during this time, children with ASD were capable of manipulating and were exposed to a wide range of variations in sound and musical structures. The musical interactions triggered by the use of BendableSound influenced the type of gestures performed by our children participants. We close reflecting from our lessons learned and by discussing directions for future work