Interactive mobile technology for children with autism spectrum condition (ASC)

Abstract

Mobile Computing has been increasingly used to support children with autism. These advanced technologies with their associated features provide a comfortable and affordable solution for autistic children and their families. The portability, flexibility, availability, and readiness of features have opened up new opportunities for enhancing and elevating the quality of support to mitigate autistic children deficiencies. Autistic children are known for their impairment in understanding and interpreting the emotional facial expression in others. This impairment has led to difficulties in social interaction skills that have a critical impact on the lives of autistic people, their parents, therapists and healthcare professionals. This paper posits a 3D animation solution developed for mobile devices. The animations have been built to the needs of children with autism. Predictability, simplicity, sameness and systematization concepts have been considered when selecting and constructing scene elements. Facial animations have been implemented with caution to alleviate the major difficulty in understanding and recognizing emotions and facial expressions.