Improving social and communication skills of adult Arabs with ASD through the use of social media technologies

Abstract

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) find it hard to communicate and interact with other people. Although technology has been involved in sup-porting people with ASD in developed countries, research on such technologies has been mainly related to Western culture. Arab adults with ASD require sup-port for improving their social skills. However, cultural differences could limit the usability of existing technologies. The proposed study aims to investigate the use of social networks for supporting Arab adults with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger syndrome in order to improve their abilities in social situations such as family relations and friendships, considering the influence of culture and tradition views on the usability and sociability of social media technologies. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.