Coping with Autism Spectrum Disorder Adolescents’ Emotional Suppression with a “One-Bit” Interactive Device

Abstract

Youth with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have unpredictable emotional changes during adolescence. Due to the weakness of understanding other people’s emotional cues, ASD adolescents tend to ignore social messages, resulting in an inability to be understood or accepted. Finally, they are labeled with social incompatibility. In this study, we focused on the ASD adolescents’ emotional communication with their family members, and the first author conducted an autobiographical design research to explore the interaction pattern and the design potential via a “one-bit” device. In this 128 days’ design exploration, we found that even a simple interactive device could motivate youth with ASD to learn and practice their emotional expression under the support and cooperation of the family members.