Interaction Design Principles for Edutainment Systems: Enhancing the Communication Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Owing to deterioration in communication, approximately 50% of individuals diagnosed with Autism face challenges in developing functional languages.To assist these individuals become more relaxed and comfortable during these activities, installed educational games on mobile devices can be used. Although there are many new mobile applications available for individuals with Autism, they are difficult to use; particularly in terms of user-interface design.An analysis of existing apps developed for children with autism shows that app design principles are projected according to interaction design (IxD) which fulfills the users‟ requirements in a more efficient way.The analysis involved five applications and pointed out fifteen suggestions regarding the design principles.This paper presents the suggested recommendations for the design and development of prototype apps for autistic children.It introduces edutainment systems design principles, which are designed to assist in the development of communication skills in children diagnosed with Autism-spectrum disorders.