This research plans to be sure the effectiveness of a different sort of mobile chatting application named MAAN, which means together during the Arabic, to own grownups that have ASD, using pre-article studies study. The goal of MAAN is to try to offer an accessible, secure, and easy-to-explore messaging application to own people having ASD and hence support their addition inside community. Within this research, i hypothesized another: (1) The the means to access popular features of cellular software (text-to-address [TTS], speech-to-text [STT], and you can interaction signs [CS]), which can be used on MAAN, can enhance this new public and you may correspondence experience of adults with ASD; and you will (2) The usage the new app can aid in reducing social loneliness when you look at the people having ASD.
Investigation Framework
A combined methods approach are observed within study. Seven grownups that have ASD had been asked to make use of MAAN using their caregivers to own sixteen weeks. Ahead of the framework and you will development of MAAN, semistructured interviews was in fact presented that have advantages to go over the fresh new first advised application framework. This new software build ended up being changed according to received views. Up coming, grownups with ASD in addition to their parents otherwise caregivers was basically asked in order to have fun with MAAN having a time period of 16 days. This years was observed regarding research of the Laugeson et al , and therefore advised that in case acquiring societal and you may communication experiences interventions, improvement is just obvious at 16 months. The research already been because of the calling people happy to engage. Because of COVID-19, the initial meetings into users was conducted on line. All of the members gotten a contact having discussing the research information, for example date and time, and you can a good weblink to have collecting told agree for an online meeting with the professionals, their friends, and their moms and dads. Immediately after acquiring the participants’ agree, these were expected to help you complete an on-line prestudy questionnaire under control to collect demographical recommendations. The parents or caregivers of the members was basically and expected to over an initial variety of the latest Social and you will Emotional Loneliness Scale to possess People (SELSA-S) survey . The aim of that it questionnaire was to dictate the fresh new societal and you will friends loneliness of one’s professionals. Into the a virtual fulfilling, the main researcher explained this new software enjoys in more detail and you will replied then questions regarding the research. The participants was in addition to provided with an effective hotline to declaration one material they could deal with during this study. To guarantee the continuity of data range, the players was indeed requested so brand new software try always running regarding the record.
At the end of the analysis, all the users having ASD as well as their caregivers otherwise mothers complete the new Mobile Application Get Scale: associate version (uMARS) survey. This new uMARS is a straightforward and you can reputable device which may be used by stop-pages to evaluate the caliber of cellular fitness applications. It gives an excellent 20-items measure complete with 4 purpose top quality subscales (engagement, possibilities, esthetics, and you may suggestions top quality) and you can step one personal quality subscale. The intention of so it survey is always to measure the app’s quality in terms of usability. russianbeautydate app This new participants’ mothers otherwise caregivers as well as complete the brand new SELSA-S survey again to search for the participants’ social and you will family loneliness rates following the analysis. Finally, a beneficial semistructured interviews which have mothers otherwise caregivers try conducted to get information about new perspective of software need. The latest interviews provided questions regarding the entire software experience in terminology away from function, possibilities, and you will pressures encountered when using the application, plus methods for next improvement.
MAAN Application Structure and Innovation
The fresh app contained the second 3 chief features: TTS, STT, and you will CS. Among the really-identified provides that will also be thought to be a form of assistive technology is the newest TTS ability, enabling profiles to listen to created text message toward a computer, tablet, or tune some one troubled inside studying and you may decoding words . Likewise, STT is actually an assistive tech function utilized by people that battle which have creating. This style of assistive technical allows address become turned into text message using the computing product. Both keeps are very commonly utilized to service introduction knowledge options . The fresh software and additionally included the fresh new CS element, that’s an important part regarding AAC-served development, as well as number one goal will be to let people with ASD into the building sentences. We are not aware of one chatting app one to supporting the fresh use of the CS ability. TAWASOL icons have been useful for new CS ability. They were designed in 2013 from the Mada Heart, an assistive tech heart for the Qatar. This type of signs depict the present day Basic Arabic vocabulary and therefore are designed to be culturally, socially, consistently, and you can linguistically acceptable. TAWASOL is founded on this new AAC Symbols Range which is led so you’re able to nonverbal or minimally spoken individuals who want solution communications choice .
