Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

Call for Papers:  Theme Issue on Technologies for Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), also known as Pervasive Development Disorder, includes impairments in social interaction, communication—both verbal and non-verbal—and stereotypical or repeated behavior, interests and activities. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control using data from the United States in 2006 indicated a rise in prevalence of ASD to 1 in 110 children: 1 in 70 boys and 1 in 310 girls.  Individuals across the Spectrum can potentially benefit from the use of novel computing technologies, including assistive and augmentative technologies, social computational systems, sensing and context-aware systems, capture and access applications, wearable systems, and more.

This special issue calls for original research and methodology papers on the integration of personal and ubiquitous computing technologies in support of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The purpose of this special issue is to bring together a set of research papers that will (1) advance our understanding of technologies for autism, (2) discuss the role of technology in supporting individuals with ASD, their friends and families, and (3) provide examples of effective technologies for autism. Through this special issue, we hope to bring together a diverse set of researchers working in autism, pediatrics, computer science, cognitive science, education, sociology, psychology, anthropology, information science, and more.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

* Empirical studies exploring issues related to autism that might be amenable to technological intervention;

* Empirical studies of technologies in use to support individuals with ASD;

* Methodologies for conducting research on technologies for autism;

* New designs and technologies that support individuals with ASD, their friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances;

* Evaluation techniques for technologies for autism;

* Case studies on the deployment and long-term use of technologies for autism.

Important Dates:

* Papers to be submitted: August 16, 2010

* Peer reviews completed: November 16, 2010

* Revisions completed and submitted: January 1, 2011

* Publication date: March/April 2011

Length of the paper: 15-30 manuscript pages (double spaced)

Guest Editors:

* Gillian Hayes, University of California, Irvine

* Karrie Karahalios, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

To submit your paper, please email it in PDF format to gillianrh@ics.uci.edu and kkarahal@cs.uiuc.edu

Information about Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

Editor-in-Chief: Peter Thomas

Journal web site: http://www.springer.com/computer/hci/journal/779

http://www.facebook.com/personalubicomp

Interactive Visual Supports for Children with Autism

Gillian R. Hayes, Sen Hirano, Gabriela Marcu, Mohamad Monibi, David H. Nguyen, and Michael Yeganyan

Interventions to support children with autism often include the use of visual supports, which are cognitive tools to enable learning and the production of language. Although visual supports are effective in helping to diminish many of the challenges of autism, they are difficult and time-consuming to create, distribute, and use. In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative study focused on uncovering design guidelines for interactive visual supports that would address the many challenges inherent to current tools and practices. We present three prototype systems that address these design challenges with the use of large group displays, mobile personal devices, and personal recording technologies. We also describe the interventions associated with these prototypes along with the results from two focus group discussions around the interventions. We present further design guidance for visual supports and discuss tensions inherent to their design.