One Size Does Not Fit All: A Smarter Way to Develop Computer Assisted Interventions for Children with ASD

The number of individuals seeking treatment for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is increasing quickly and families often have difficulty accessing effective therapy. A number of computer assisted interventions (CAI) have been developed in an attempt to address these needs. However, most development of CAI has taken place in the absence of an understanding of how variability in ASD behavioral phenotypes may affect CAI effectiveness. The current effort describes the first step towards developing a framework to understand how behavioral phenotypes among those diagnosed with ASD can inform the design of CAI. Specifically, we propose a four-step methodology to better inform the design and development of such CAI. Generally, these steps involve by (1) identifying a need where CAI is appropriate, (2) identifying a technology or set of technologies that are relevant for that population, (3) identifying an appropriate population that stands to benefit from our CAI, and (4) identifying specific content to be included in our CAI. We also describe the results of an effort applying this proposed methodology for the development of our CAI.