Title: The design and development of a mobile communication tool for autistic individuals - AutiSay

Authors: Nyuk Hiong Voon; Abdullah Maidin; Halina Jumaat; Muhammad Zulfadhli Ahmad; Siti Nor Bazilah

Addresses: School of Computing and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam ' School of Computing and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam ' School of Computing and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam ' School of Computing and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam ' School of Business, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

Abstract: Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have social communication difficulties and/or display restrictive and repetitive behaviours. This paper focuses on the social communication difficulties and the design of a mobile application to be used as a communication tool between the autistic child and his/her caregivers. The advances in mobile ubiquitous technologies provide an opportunity to develop a tool to improve the social communication of the autistic child. Relevant design requirements were identified and incorporated into an application that is highly customisable. The application has undergone a usability inspection to collect feedback for further refinement.

Keywords: mobile applications; assistive technologies; usability inspection; autistic apps; social communication difficulties; SCD; autism spectrum disorders; ASD; mobile communications; autistic children; mobile apps; mobile app design; customisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKESDP.2015.073460

International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Soft Data Paradigms, 2015 Vol.5 No.1, pp.31 - 50

Received: 01 May 2015
Accepted: 02 May 2015
Published online: 09 Dec 2015 *

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