Autism Children’s App using PECS

Soomro, Nareena; Soomro, Safeeullah

doi:10.33166/aetic.2018.01.002

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Gamification of content [ 33 ] when teaching children with ASD is useful, as this made it possible to keep the children stay focused in this study; in this regard, having an interface that is more friendly and enjoyable is also important [ 56 ]. Many mobile apps were developed to support children with ASD [ 19 ], but some of them failed when used in different geographical contexts. To avoid this mistake, the interface designer in this study followed the guidelines prescribed previously [ 75 ] and the curriculum of basic education in Rwanda [ 44 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The development of the app was accomplished in 2 steps: (1) user requirement analysis and (2) design process, as recommended by Soomro and Soomro [ 19 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies by Tanner et al [ 17 ], Fairus et al [ 18 ], and Soomro and Soomro [ 19 ] revealed that mobile app technologies are crucial to improve the learning ability of individuals with ASD. The study by Rajagopal and Ying [ 20 ] revealed that mobile apps with repetitive instruction can improve learning numeracy skills for children with ASD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study

Ntalindwa¹,

Nduwingoma²,

Karangwa³

et al. 2021

JMIR Pediatr Parent

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The use of information and communication technologies is transforming the lives of millions of people including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the process of developing a user-friendly and effective mobile app needs to follow a complex standard protocol and culture-sensitive customization, and involves multiple sectors. This complex work becomes even more challenging when considering children with ASD in low- and middle-income countries as the users. Objective This study aimed to design and develop a more intuitive mobile app to improve numeracy skills of children with ASD in Rwanda and evaluate the usability of the app. Methods A participatory design approach was utilized in this study in which 40 children with ASD, 5 teachers, and 10 parents of children with ASD participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) and usability testing. A narrative literature review was performed to explore existing mobile apps and compare previous studies to design the questions for FGD and facilitate a framework for designing the app. The agile methodology was used to develop the mobile app, and the heuristics evaluation method was used to test and evaluate the usability of the initial version of the app to improve its functionalities. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following the guidelines of the qualitative narrative analysis (QNA) method. Results During the FGDs the respondents shared their need for a mobile app in teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD and pointed to possibilities of integrating the mobile app into existing curriculum. Ten themes emerged from the FGDs and exercise of developing the mobile app. The themes were related to (1) teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD, (2) planning and development of a mobile app for a person with ASD, (3) testing a mobile app, (4) strength of the developed app against the existing ones, (5) behavioral maintenance and relapse prevention, (6) possibilities to integrate the mobile app into the existing curriculum, (7) data protection for users, (8) social implications, (9) challenges in Rwanda, and (10) focus on future. Conclusions The community plays an important role in the planning, development, and evaluation of a mobile app for children with ASD. In this study, inputs from teachers and parents resulted in an optimally designed mobile app that can improve numeracy skills in children diagnosed with ASD to support the implementation of competency-based curriculum in Rwanda.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The development of the app was accomplished in 2 steps: (1) user requirement analysis and (2) design process, as recommended by Soomro and Soomro [ 19 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study

Ntalindwa¹,

Nduwingoma²,

Karangwa³

et al. 2021

JMIR Pediatr Parent

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, the study by N. Soomro and S. Soomro [50] focuses on the development of android applications based on PECS principles intending to assist teachers, parents, caregivers, and doctors to monitor autistic children's progress. Moreover, the application involves a progress chart and user function for the addition of images and integrated technologies which had been proven to improve communication skills.…”

Section: ) Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technological Evolvement in AAC Modalities to Foster Communications of Verbally Challenged ASD Children: A Systematic Review

et al. 2024

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) emerged as a combination of methods or strategies that constitute any device, such as Speech Generating Device (SGD), Program (mobile applications), Procedure (PECS, Picture Exchange Communication System), which enhances individual's communication ability. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a spectrum of comprehensive neurodevelopment disorder that leads to speech impairments, repetitive behavior, and social communication difficulties; therefore, it is imperative to underscore that at the core of all impediments are communication impairment. This article represents a systematic review of research initiatives that investigate multi-modal AAC strategies and functionality, features of mobile applications to reinforce communication and communal skills in verbally challenged ASD children because other researches are focused only on low or high-tech AAC or interventions to provide insights on ASD children respond to a particular approach. Following the PRISMA method, a total of 60 (January 2015 to October 2020) research articles were reviewed, indexed by Springer, Science Direct, Scopus, ACM, IEEE databases, and published in the AAC journal. The selected research articles are categorized into different themes where most of them focused on interactive mobile applications to improve emotional, social, learning, and overall communication skills in verbally challenged ASD children. This systematic review provides an outline of the paradigm shift in AAC modalities from PECS to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Augmented Reality (AR) based applications. It opens up underline future opportunities to integrate intelligent analytics features in mobile applications to strengthen communication skills in verbally undermined ASD children. INDEX TERMSAugmentative and Alternative Communication(AAC), Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD), Mobile Applications, Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence(AI), Augmented Reality(AR).

show abstract

“…Picture Exchange Communication System: PECS is an evidence-based intervention for students who are nonverbal or who have difficulties with verbal communication, such as some students with autism and intellectual disability (Strnadová et al, 2014). There are numerous apps that support the use of PECS for diverse age groups of students, such as (1) Autism App, (2) iCAN, (3) Grace App, (4) iConverse™, (5) PECSÒ Phase III, (6) PECSÒ IV1, (7) Proloquo2go and (8) Wait4it™ (Ganz, Hong, Goodwyn, Kite, & Gilliland, 2015;Lorah et al, 2015;Pyramid Educational Consultants, n.d.;Soomro & Soomro, 2018). Most of these apps are available on both Android and Apple platforms, but educators must check as there is continuous change in app development for both Apple and Android users.…”

Section: Models Of Tablet Use and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tablet Devices for Students with Disability in the Inclusive Classroom

Cumming¹,

Strnadová²

2020

Assistive Technology to Support Inclusive Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This chapter explores ways that tablet devices can be used to support the inclusion of students with disability in inclusive classrooms. A short description of the evidence of efficacy of using tablets to support students with disability is provided. Ways to use tablet devices to support students with disability in the areas of communication, academics, organisation and social emotional skills to support their inclusion in mainstream classrooms are addressed. Lastly, barriers to using tablets to support students with disability in inclusive classrooms are described and ways to remove these barriers are suggested.

show abstract

Autism Children’s App using PECS

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study

Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study

Technological Evolvement in AAC Modalities to Foster Communications of Verbally Challenged ASD Children: A Systematic Review

Tablet Devices for Students with Disability in the Inclusive Classroom

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About