This project was sparked by an observation by a clinician from the Autism Resource Centre. She explained that there is a real difficulty getting ASD people to remember to carry cards and/or documentation to be read and used in difficult situations. However she notices that most people will remember to carry a mobile phone with them. So are there ways of making useful information available on such devices so it will always be available in a time of need? Is there any research on this? As I document my search methods I’m always going to try starting with broad searches then refine them to be more specific.
Starting with the “Autism Data” collection via The National Autistic Society Information Centre Library which would seem to be a good place to start for any research of specific relevance to autism. Let’s try the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid.
Simple search on ‘phone’ Yields 24 results, search seems to be on the metadata of their records. Brings up records with the phrase ‘phone call’ which is a set of records mostly relating to phone surveys of parents or using phones for charity fund-raising. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be a way for me to link to individual search results directly so from now I will refer to the record numbers
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Record No: 27858
“…As a younger child, he would pretend to talk on the phone…” This was in the context of language impairment. So even if an individual has a communication impairment the desire to communicate the way everyone else does can still be there. Is a phone an aspirational device for even young children, something they want to use? -
Record No: 23901
Author:De Leo G. et al
Title:A smart-phone application and a companion website for the improvement of the communication skills of children with autism: clinical rationale, technical development and preliminary results
Source:Journal of Medical Systems, 2011, Vol. 35(4), pp. 703-11
This looks more promising, hmn how do I get a copy of the article “Journal of Medical Systems“??? Will document a “How to” using an Athens account
If it has a “companion website” that sounds as if it will be easier to get hold of quickly. From a quick skim of their article they detail a system working on Windows Mobile phones and the technique seems remarkably similar to “Talking Mats” – using visual images for communication. So should bear in mind the importance of using techniques other than solely text (always a good principle for accessibility anyway) and can symbols be more effective for visual learners.
TO BE CONTINUED