Learning Aid for Autistic Children
Keywords: Autism, Assistive Technologies, Cognitive Disability, Coping Strategies
Guide: Prof. Pradeep Yammiyavar, IIT Guwahati
Duration: August 2011 - April 2012
Project Description
The aim of the Project was to develop new learning aids for the Autistic children, who lack the skills of Social Interaction, Communication, Facial Expressions and Fine Motor movements.
Major problems with communication are:
- Have difficulty with imaginative play and with developing symbols into language.
- Do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs.
- Include delayed onset of babbling, unusual gestures, diminished responsiveness, and vocal patterns that are not synchronized with the caretaker.
- Less likely to make requests or share experiences and are more likely to simply repeat other’s words.
Deliverable
Based on an observational study at Assam Autism Foundation under the guidance of Dr. Shabina Ahmed, a prototype of the toy was conceptualized with visual, auditory and tactile feedback, which solves the problems of teaching these children.
Process Followed
The project has been done over a period of 9 months, wherein we had frequent visits to Assam Autism Foundation in order to interact with the children and conduct contextual inquiries. The process followed was:
- Literature Survey
- Contextual Inquiry
- Observation of video recordings
- Data Analysis
- Concept generation
- Development of the Toy
Several revisions were done in the form and concept of the toy.
Tools and Technologies
- Arduino UNO
- Processing.org
- Toy, LEDs, Vibrator and Speaker
Publication
The paper, “Learning Aid for Autistic Children: Development of an Interactive Toy” was presented in Symposium of Human Computer Interaction Design in Virtual Environments (March 16-18, 2012), held at IIT Guwahati.
Authors: R.Bharadwaj, M.S.N.Karthik, P.Yaswanth Reddy, Dr. Pradeep Yammiyavar, Dr. Shabina Ahmed.
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