LifePal: A mobile self-management tool for supporting young people with autism

Abstract

People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) cope with a life-long condition that can affect communication skills and social interaction. This can lead to feelings of social anxiety, depression and isolation, especially among young adults with ASD. One strategy to support the needs of people with ASD is to facilitate proper structure and organization in the person’s daily life. This paper presents a technology solution that promotes a self-management paradigm towards empowering people with ASD to enhance their independence and life skills. ‘LifePal’ is a smartphone App that provides users with task management, life-logging, reminding, and travel support. The App is supported via a dedicated web portal that promotes collaboration between caregivers and their dependents, towards defining obtainable life goals. The paper presents implementation details of the core platform services and discusses the results from a two-stage evaluation, conducted over a period of 6 months. Based on the feedback from 20 participants (4 parents (Phase one), 8 child-parent groupings (Phase two)), the findings positively support the potential utility of LifePal, however, highlight the importance of delivering sufficient user training to support adoption.