Running Head: USER INTERFACE ADAPTABILITY AAC APP AUTISM ...

Running Head: USER INTERFACE ADAPTABILITY AAC APP AUTISM

User Interface Adaptability within an Augmentative Communication App for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder by April Stauffer

A thesis submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts in

The Faculty of Education Program

University of Ontario Institute of Technology August 2015

? April Stauffer, 2015

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Acknowledgements The completion of this paper would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of many wonderful individuals throughout my time in the MA program at UOIT. I would like to thank Dr. Francois Desjardins for supporting me through my entire time in the MA program at UOIT, from my first class in Adobe Connect to my final draft and defense of this thesis. Your mentorship and support will never be forgotten! Thank you for delaying your retirement until I finished this paper, it was an honour to be your last student. I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee: Dr Meghann Lloyd and Dr. Manon Lemonde, for their encouragement, insightful comments and hard questions. Thank you to the faculty and administrative staff at the Faculty of Education at UOIT for running an innovative and completely online program. Without the level of flexibility offered by this program, I would not have been able to pursue graduate level studies. Thank you to my fellow graduate students, Jessica Clarkson and Todd Blayone, for their technical and emotional support through this process and testing out all the equipment in the EI Lab. I appreciate your taking the time out of your own busy schedules to help with this research. Finally, to my husband Andrew, thank you for your love, support and unwavering patience throughout this entire process. Thank you for listening to me discuss this paper endlessly and staying enthusiastic through the entire process. I would have given up many times during this last four years without your encouragement and faith in my ability to complete this program.

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Abstract For individuals working in the field of education and early intervention, facilitating communication is considered the first step to developing learning interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The introduction of tablets and augmentative communication apps is changing the way that communication is being approached, opening up an entirely new area of research surrounding the effectiveness of these devices as communication tools. However, there is presently no clear set of criteria to identify which interface settings could work best for each individual with autism spectrum disorder. This study focused on the user interface of Proloquo2Go and specifically looks at the effect that button size and array size has on the usability of the app for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. It was found that 2 of 3 participants exhibited similar response rates and patterns of use with the app across all phases of the study, showing low influence of button size and array size. The third subject had a number of maladaptive behaviours which interferred with his ability to participate in the study, not allowing for any conclusions about usability to be made from his data. Further research is needed in the area of user interface characteristics for individuals with autism spectrum disorder to draw solid conclusions about a relationship between button size/array size and usability for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

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Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii User Interface Adaptability within an Augmentative Communication App for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder..................................................................... 1 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 9

Autism Spectrum Disorder ............................................................................................. 9 Communication Impairments.................................................................................... 10 Motor Deficits. .......................................................................................................... 11

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Interventions ......................... 14 Sign Language. ......................................................................................................... 16 Speech Generating Devices. ..................................................................................... 18 Picture Based Systems. ............................................................................................. 19 Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).................................................. 19 Tablet-Based Alternative and Augmentative Communication. ................................ 21 Selection of App for User. ........................................................................................ 24 Proloquo2Go. ............................................................................................................ 26

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User Interface Design ................................................................................................... 27 Iconicity. ................................................................................................................... 28 Button Size and Array Size....................................................................................... 30 Display Style. ............................................................................................................ 31

Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 32 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 34 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 35 Research Design............................................................................................................ 38 Participants.................................................................................................................... 38 Parent Interview Survey................................................................................................ 40 Preferred Stimuli ........................................................................................................... 41 Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 42

Visit 1: Consent and Intake Interview. ..................................................................... 42 Visit 2: Introduction to the app/Teaching Trials. ...................................................... 43 Visit 3: Phase 1: Proloquo2Go Setting 1 - 2 column view. ...................................... 44 Visit 4: Phase 2: Proloquo2Go Setting 2 - 3 column view. ...................................... 46 Visit 5: Phase 3: Proloquo2Go Setting 3 - 4 column view. ...................................... 47 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 47 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 47 Algorithm. ................................................................................................................. 50

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