Testing literacy educational software to develop design guidelines for children with Autism

Multimedia computer programs have been found to facilitate learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the effectiveness of these resources is limited due to poor design or a lack of consideration of the ASD cognitive profile, particularly at the lower-functioning end of the spectrum. This paper attempts to tackle the problem of the lack of design guidelines, with the aim of facilitating the development of effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The case study reported here evaluated two literacy educational computer programs, by observing five low-functioning children with ASD, compared to five neurotypical children (control cases). The two types of reading-support software contrasted in the study presented different characteristics. The children’s data analysed here concern observations of child-software interactive sessions based on video recordings and coded for attention deployment to each program, including motivation and engagement indicators. The results identify different patterns in the responses of the children with ASD when using the two types of software. On the basis of this case study and work by other authors, a set of guidelines is proposed, that are intended to help in designing effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The guidelines emphasize a multi-disciplinary framework using methodologies from various research areas including software engineering, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Child Computer Interaction (CCI), mental health, education and neuropsychology