Appropriateness of the TOBY Application, an iPad Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Thematic Approach

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the appropriateness of an ICT intervention, the Therapeutic Outcomes by You application (TOBY app), from the perspectives of the parents. Parental experiences of twenty-four parents of a child with ASD who had participated in a three-month trial using the TOBY app were collected using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted and themes were mapped against an appropriateness framework. Collectively, parents felt the TOBY app was relevant and important to them and their children's needs, while expressing partial support of the TOBY app as: a positive experience for them and their children, beneficial for them and their children, a socially and ecological valid intervention, and an intervention that supported change and continuation in the skills learnt.

Stakeholder Perspectives to Support Graphical User Interface Design for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study

“…One of the premises supported by almost all the literature is the need for customisation of technology [18,22,32,33,35,37,[39][40][41][42][44][45][46][47][48][49]. In this study, the elements identified as customisable for each child were images, sound, reinforcement, text, colours, screen layout and presentation, and content.…”

“…The need to involve children with ASD, family members and professional interdisciplinary team members in the design of technology emerged from interviews and observations, as previously described in several publications [22,33,38,42,[46][47][48][49]. Several authors have implemented studies to capture the perspectives on technology design of end-users and stakeholders in participatory design from a qualitative or mixed approach [22,41,42,[44][45][46]49]. It is also necessary to properly select knowledge extraction techniques to help children, relatives and professionals capture their perspectives [38].…”

“…In previous years, some qualitative or mixed-method studies have focused on understanding the perspective of the different agents involved in the use of technology in the field of autism; specifically people with ASD, family members and ASD-relevant professionals [41,42,[44][45][46][47][48][49]. The focus has been on exploring the meaning given by end-users and stakeholders to promote inclusive, person-centred and evidence-based technology design and development practices.…”

A twelve-month follow-up of an information communication technology delivered intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder living in regional Australia

“…however, further research into the parent and child factors that influence the maintenance of skills is warranted (Parsons, Wilson, Vaz, Lee, & Cordier, 2019).…”

The Digital Divide in Technologies for Autism: Feasibility Considerations for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Even simple features such as task lists, calendars and address book applications can improve the day-to-day independence of school-going young people with ASD (Gentry et al, 2010 ; Hedges et al, 2018 ). Smartphone applications can potentially provide parents and carers with objective early screening (Egger et al, 2018 ; Kanne, et al, 2018 ) and intervention tools (Law et al, 2018 ; Parsons et al, 2019 ; Rogerson et al, 2019 ). Using online social media platforms (e.g.…”