AVAZ application (trial version) - A voice for the nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

Abstract

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are nonverbal lack communication skills. These children with ASD are unable to express their needs verbally even if they want to. The introduction of indigenous augmentative and alternative communication system (AAC) can be helpful in improving the social interaction. By using AAC, these children with ASD can easily communicate their needs with parents, teachers, or caregivers. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the importance and need of AVAZ application in special school-going children with ASD. Study Design: A pilot study for short term on small sample was conducted. Methods: A sample of eight special school-going children with ASD was selected. Each child had downloaded AVAZ application trial version on their smartphone from the Google Play Store. The number of sentences formed by the children over a period of 21 days was analyzed. The responses were recorded in the AVAZ application. Results: Percentage improvement was noted in forming relevant sentences through the application of each child from the 1st to 21st session ranging from 28.5% to 40%; five children showed the improvement but three children did not form any sentence neither relevant nor nonrelevant. Conclusion: Our study showed that the use of AVAZ application can be helpful in improving social interaction and can be utilized as a supporting tool for functional communication with others and for the better learning process in children with ASD.