The Use of Information Communication Technologies Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Descriptive Qualitative Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) appears to be increasing globally due to the complex interaction of multiple biopsychosocial and environmental factors. Mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic gadgets have transformed our means of communication, and have also changed both healthcare and how we learn. These technological enhancements may have a positive impact on the lives of children, but there is currently a global scarcity of information on how information technology influences the education of children with ASD.ObjectiveThis study was conducted in Rwandan schools and communities, and aimed to understand the perceptions of students with ASD, their parents, and their teachers, on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the education of those with ASD.MethodsThis qualitative descriptive study was conducted from December 2017 to July 2018. Researchers conducted four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 54 participants from different backgrounds: teachers, parents, and students with ASD. Each of the FGDs took approximately two and a half hours. A predefined set of open-ended questions were selected to discover people’s perceptions regarding assistive technologies used in ASD, their effectiveness, the scope of using them in their context, and upcoming challenges during implementation. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.ResultsThe findings of the study revealed seven key themes: (1) the use of ICT for the education of children with ASD; (2) existing augmentative facilities for learning; (3) current patterns of use of ICT in education; (4) preferred areas of learning for ASD students; (5) integration of ICT into educational programs; (6) areas of interest outside the classroom; and (7) future opportunities and challenges in Rwanda. We found most of the study participants assumed that appropriate technology and related innovations might solve the challenges faced by learners with ASD in classrooms. Moreover, they thought that children with ASD more so enjoyed watching television, playing digital games, and drawing objects using gadgets than interacting with people or playing with other children.ConclusionsThe use of various low-cost technical devices can aid with teaching and the education of children with autism in Rwanda. However, this area requires further research to discover the impact ICT can have on the education of children with ASD, so this study may become a starting point for further research in the area.

Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study

“…These apps were installed on smartphones and tablets and given to the children to observe their ability to use these interfaces. The results from this observation were closer to those from our previous study, in which children with ASD were able to use digital gadgets when the apps installed are easy for them to use [ 5 ]. The same methodology of observation and FGDs was used in data collection of that study.…”

“…The local participants were selected based on data from our previous study [ 5 ]. The international participants were randomly selected based on their responses to 5 questions posted on the Quora platform [ 52 ], which is an open public forum to exchange ideas.…”

“…According to De Macedo and Ulbricht [ 24 ], children with ASD show different behaviors, and hence parents and educators need to contextualize the content of the technological apps. Our previous work [ 5 ] revealed how worthy the development and tailor-made designs of mobile apps are and that these have immense potentiality to help improve the learning competencies of children with ASD in Rwandan schools. This study has been prompted by previous studies that revealed how mobile technologies enhance academic skills in different ways such as word matching or picture perception [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Grant Report on mCARE: Mobile-Based Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

“…We conducted a formal heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthrough of mCARE using Nielsen’s heuristic evaluation to ensure the usability and navigability of the developed tool [ 40 ]. Once we had a final design, we conducted standard usability tests to measure the time taken and the number of errors made for one complete submission of data using mCARE-SMS/mCARE-APP.…”

“…An increasing amount of research indicates strong possibilities for the use of digital interventions to support the management of the autism using computers, smartphones, wearable technologies, virtual reality, robotics and tablets [ 38 ]. Mobile solutions to a number of problems have been well accepted in Bangladesh [ 39 ] and in other LMICs [ 40 ]. Our systemic review and metanalyses prior to the project launch documented the potential effectiveness of digital health interventions in ASD.…”