A couple of days ago we were were asked to give some help to a student at Philadelphia University with a new concept he is developing which it is hoped with help children on the autism spectrum.

Like previous discussion blogs it would be great if you read about the ideas behind the proposal which you can find below. We then have a few short questions and it would be great if you could share your responses in the comments section below.

Thanks very much in advance!

The student shares “My name is Marshall Linton. I am a graduate student studying industrial design at Philadelphia University. For my capstone project I am aiming to create a interface that can be used by two children on the Autism spectrum simultaneously without the aid of a caregiver. The interface would promote social communication, joint attention, and task completion between the children. My intention is to create an experience where in children who are on the spectrum are encouraged to engage with each other in a natural way while learning and enforcing skills that are applicable in everyday life. I do not aim to force children into what is seen as “normal” social interaction.

In both of my concepts two children would be seated facing each other with a transparent interface in between them. This interface would be able to transition from clear to having an image projected on it (the image would be semi transparent).

In my body language concept, the first child would be prompted by the screen to imitate body language that evokes an emotion (happiness, fear, anger, surprise). The second child would be prompted to answer what they sense the other child is feeling. After the second child’s response the first child would be prompted to verify the first child’s answer and the second child would be prompted to either mirror the first child or assume a new pose.

In my joint attention / task completion concept, A simple maze would be projected on the screen. At the start of the maze would be an illustration of a car. At the end of the maze there would be an illustration of a garage. The children would be prompted to move the car to its garage together. The children would touch the car to move it. On opposite sides of the interface the children would have to guide the car through the maze back to its garage. The children would have to move the car in unison or the car would drop and the maze would reset.

Would you kindly post some feedback regarding the following questions:

-Would an interface where two children work on completing a task together, without the aid of a caregiver, have value?

-Would having children imitate body language and facial expressions provide value to them learning social skills?

-Would an activity that encourages the completion of a task while maintaining joint attention have value?