Towards the Mixed-Reality Platform for the Learning of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Case Study in Qatar

Abstract

AbstractThis virtual classroom has created a lot of challenges for students with limited access to the technology (computer or smartphone) or the Internet and especially for the parents of children with developmental disabilities, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a lifelong disorder and characterized by difficulties in social communication skills and may exhibit a restricted or repetitive set of behaviors. The number of children with ASD is soaring worldwide. There are no platforms that facilitate remote and interactive learning for children with ASD. In this paper, we describe the process of ideation, and design of an interactive educational platform that utilizes the role of mixed-reality (real-time teaching and virtual teaching) to enable remote learning for children with ASD. This work is a product of our continuous collaboration with special education and assistive technology centers based in Qatar in which we have developed an augmented reality (AR) vocabulary learning application for children with ASD in English and Arabic. The application provides the learning of letters and words in an interactive environment. We plan to extend this app to a full-educational platform using mixed-reality. The ideation and design processes were conducted collaboratively with teachers and specialists. In this platform, the child will be learning in a real-time environment when a teacher, child, and parents are all online together at a given time; however, in the absence of a teacher, a robotic talkative avatar would support a child and its parents in a virtual environment. The teachers will also have the capability to communicate with the children and their parents through the platform. It will also allow teachers, specialists, and parents to monitor the child’s performance as well.KeywordsAutism spectrum disorder (ASD)Mobile augmented reality (AR)Language comprehensionVocabularySmartphoneTablet