Investigating the Efficacy of a Computerized Prompting Device to Assist Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Activities of Daily Living

ABSTRACT

Learning to perform self-care skills can pose a major challenge for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as the parents and caregivers who support them. The computerized device described in this paper has been used by children with ASD and their carers to autonomously assist with self-care activities. The device uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to track a child with ASD through an activity and issues audio and visual prompts as required. A pilot study involving five children with ASD was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the device as it assisted with hand washing. Results showed that the device responded correctly to approximately 74% of the situations it encountered. While there are areas requiring improvement, acceptance of the device by children and their parents was encouraging. Efforts are underway to refine the device before evaluation through future long-term, in-home trials.

Keywords:

• assistive technology
• autism
• electronic aids to daily living
• pervasive computing
• quality of life

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research is funded by the SickKids Foundation and the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health. The authors would like to acknowledge Geneva Centre for Autism for their assistance with recruiting study participants.