Interactive Vocabulary Learning Application for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Participatory Design Study

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is affecting 1 in 54 children worldwide according to estimates of CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDMN) (CDC, 2020) and 1 in 89 in the state of Qatar (Alshaban et al., 2019). This percentage is increasing the challenges exerted on the education sector for teachers aiming to meet learning milestones. Children with ASD are presented with challenges such as relating concepts to their meaning and generalization challenges. Research related to technology-based interventions, particularly computer-based interventions (CBI) targeting language, is growing in the field of human computing interaction. Therefore, the aim of this project is to provide an interactive application targeting vocabulary learning using augmented reality (AR) for children with ASD. The application is both in Arabic and in English language focusing on vocabulary building using 3D model representation of the meaning for the designated vocab. Requirement gathering, low-fidelity prototype testing and high-fidelity prototype testing stages were performed to deploy the necessary requirements into the interactive platform. Interviews and focus groups have been conducted to collect requirements and evaluate different features in the application. Thematic analysis (TA) was used to synthesize and make meaningful outcomes. Our findings reveal that there is a clear demand for technologies in the Arabic language. A user-friendly interface keeping in consideration the cognitive and physical motor abilities of the child across the spectrum is essential. An autistic friendly presentation with interactive features is suggested to give a meaningful learning experience for a child with ASD.