Research
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Human Computer Interaction, Interaction Design
Auti-lite
Hedge and Storni
About
Autism Spectrum Disorders(ASD) is characterized by a spectrum of neurological disorders. It is a developmental disorder with core deficits in social interaction, social communication, and imagination (e.g. in the context of play), including restricted interests and repititive behaviour. Autism is highly idiosyncratic in nature.
Research stresses the importance of providing early and intensive interventions that are highly individualized. This study explores the role of physical computing in developing supports and solutions to be used by children and their caretakers to achieve self-regulation and acquire skills.
Auti-Lite was developed through a user centered design approach and consists of two parts - 1) a generic modular frame and 2) a number of specific 'tiles', meant to be used at school or at home.
The system allows the parents and teachers to customize the product to meet different requirements of a child in the spectrum. Tiles afford tangible interaction and can be sensory, communicational, voice-activated, and supporting the acquisition of social, academic, motor skills, interactional needs and so on.
The design is modular (different tiles for different needs, tasks, skills acquisition) and progressive (within each tiles task progress from easy to difficult as the users develop their skills). The idea, therefore, is a family of products (tiles) that would then, evolve, in accordance with the child's advancements in their understanding, acquisition of skills, and developmental levels.
It also aims to enhance the relationship dynamics and communication between the child and the caregiver by providing opportunities for play-based interactions and joint attention while also encouraging co-participation/communication/eye-contact.
Speech and language
Supporting Best Practice in Peer-Mediated approaches with Minimally Verbal Autistic children
O’Donoghue
About
From the preschool years onwards, children spend a large proportion of their day in classroom settings. They play, eat, learn and grow alongside their peers. Peer interactions can be particularly challenging for autistic children.
My research is interested in how skills can be developed in peers to support interaction, and how this can enhance opportunities for language learning and social interaction, while also building empathy and understanding in the peers.
This approach is influenced by a social model of disability which foregrounds the importance of skilled and understanding communication partners.
I am using a participatory research design to co-develop a module which can be used in preschools to support a peer-mediated approach.
Developmental research
Minding the Gap: Detecting Girls with Autism in Early Childhood
Brooke McMullen
About
ASD has historically been considered a disorder predominantly seen in males (Carpenter et al., 2019; Estrin et al., 2020), and despite modern population studies indicating a more balanced male-to-female ratio of 2-3:1 (Lai et al., 2015), boys receive an ASD diagnosis four times more frequently than girls (Duvekot et al., 2017).
Moreover, while the core characteristics of ASD are typically present in children before three years of age, (Carpenter et al., 2019), cognitively able girls are frequently unrecognised and undiagnosed in early childhood (Begeer et al., 2013; Petrou et al., 2018).
Through a comprehensive systematic review, the present study aims to support the detection of girls with autism in early childhood by firstly, understanding how girls with autism present in early childhood, and secondly, addressing the gender gap in ASD screening and diagnostics.
