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

Establishing verbal repertoires in children with autism using function-based video modeling : direct and collateral effects

Young children with autism may demonstrate severe language impairment including the absence of vocal speech. This may limit the ability to mand (i.e., request) for preferred items or events and can lead to the development of problematic behavior that functions as a mand. The purposes of the present investigations were to (a) identify the function of gestures emitted by young children with autism, (b) examine differences in outcomes of mand training when the function of gestural behavior was either incorporated or not incorporated into mand training procedures, and (c) examine collateral effects of the mand training conditions on related but nontargeted behaviors.In Experiment 1, gestural behavior emitted by 5 nonvocal children with autism was functionally analyzed using a single subject alternating treatment design. Repeated applications of test and control conditions revealed gestures functioned as mands for attention for 1 participant and as mands for assistance obtaining a preferred item or event for 4 participants. Experiment 2 examined the effects of a video modeling (VM) intervention on acquisition of vocal or picture exchange mands under 2 experimental conditions. Function-based VM targeted response forms that were functionally equivalent to the gestures examined during Experiment 1 whereas nonfunction-based VM targeted response forms that were not related to participants' gestural mands. Differential effects of the VM conditions were examined using an alternating treatment within multiple probe across behaviors design.Participants acquired, generalized, and maintained mands taught during function-based VM but not during nonfunction-based VM. Additionally, the function-based condition resulted in clear improvements to problem behaviors and slight improvements to listener behaviors when compared to the nonfunction-based condition. Results are discussed in terms of the empirical and applied implications for function-based interventions and VM.Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Special Education, 2010Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-251

Assessing and Mitigating Risk for Applied Behavior Analysis Providers During a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the extent to which human service providers can safely deliver close-contact therapies in which social distancing cannot occur. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one such example, with the pandemic creating several barriers to safely delivering this essential service. The present paper describes the development and administration of a risk assessment and mitigation toolkit that was designed for ABA providers to make decisions about how to identify and mitigate risk in delivering therapeutic services to children with ASD. The toolkit includes considerations for clients, other household members, providers, and treatment space to mitigate risks of COVID-19 exposure and spread. Three Board Certified Behavior Analysts piloted the toolkit with 20 clients. The findings indicate the toolkit can be used to identify situations in which a client, family member, or provider may be at higher risk and ensure increased mitigation strategies in such situations. Although developed for use in ABA treatment, the toolkit could potentially be modified for use across a range of educational and human service situations that provide similar close-contact therapies

The development of the string quartet since Beethoven

68 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

Zpracování a predikce ekonomických dat

Department of Theoretical Computer Science and Mathematical LogicKatedra teoretické informatiky a matematické logikyMatematicko-fyzikální fakultaFaculty of Mathematics and Physic