Minan, Maria Jose

Affecting one in every 88 children, Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD is one of the fastest growing developmental disabilities. Scientific research has proven that early behavioral intervention can improve learning, communication, and social skills. Similarly, studies have shown that the usage of off-the-shelf technology to this end boosts motivation in children under the spectrum while increasing their attention span and ability to interact socially. Embracing perspectives from different fields can lead to the development of an effective tool that can complement the treatment of those with ASD. This thesis documents the re-engineering and extension of Ying, an existing mobile software application designed to aid in the learning of autistic children. Ying’s original methodology combined expertise from different fields including developmental psychology, semantic learning, and computer science. In this work, Ying is modified to incorporate additional aspects of traditional treatment, like applied behavior analysis and verbal behavior therapy, while enhancing the user experience by improving the audio and visual capabilities of the application. Using cutting-edge software technology in areas like voice recognition and mobile device applications, this project aspires to enhance social behavior and reinforce verbal communication skills in children with ASD, while detecting and storing learning patterns for later study.

Affecting one in every 68 children, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one
of the fastest growing developmental disabilities. Scientific research has proven that
early behavioral intervention can improve learning, communication, and social skills.
Similarly, studies have shown that the usage of of-the-shelf technology boosts
motivation in children diagnosed with ASD while increasing their attention span and
ability to interact socially. Embracing perspectives from different fields of study can
lead to the development of an effective tool to complement traditional treatment
of those with ASD. This thesis documents the re-engineering, extension, and evolu-
tion of Ying, an existing web application designed to aid in the learning of autistic
children. The original methodology of Ying combines expertise from other research
areas including developmental psychology, semantic learning, and computer science.
In this work, Ying is modifed to incorporate aspects of traditional treatment, such
as Applied Behavior Analysis. Using cutting-edge software technology in areas like
voice recognition and mobile device applications, this project aspires to use software
engineering approaches and audio-visual interaction with the learner to enhance social behavior and reinforce verbal communication skills in children with ASD, while
detecting and storing learning patterns for later study.