Specialisterne: leveraging the unique skills of Autistics at competitive market terms

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‘Niche construction’ (http://thomasarmstrong.com/blog/2010/03/02/a-key-set-of-resources-for-neurodiversity-assistive-technologies/) is the term Dr. Thomas Armstrong uses for modifying an environment (creating a ‘niche’) to adapt to each unique brain. Assistive technologies represent important resources to help accomplish these environmental modifications.

In an earlier post I introduced the potential use of smartphone-related applications for individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and other cognitive challenges in the workplace.

Indeed there has been a proliferation of various Autism-focused apps on various platforms and operating systems, which has resulted in a need to simplify the information as well as a need for formal studies documenting results of specific apps and/or smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and tablet computers.

Corina Becker’s blog, Autistic Adult App Project, is an attempt at listing and reviewing the existing apps that are suitable to meet the needs of Autistic adults.

An excellent resource on various aspects of apps and smartphones, PDAs, and tablet computers, is the Autism Center for Excellence (ACE) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), specifically the Resources: Autism Technology section of its website.

At the VCU in Richmond, Dr. Tony Gentry is Assistant Professor at the Department of Occupational Therapy, where he directs the university’s Assistive Technology for Cognition Laboratory (ATCL). He is also the principal investigator of a 5-year National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)-funded study, the ASDATC (Autism Spectrum Disorder Assistive Technology for Cognition) Project, looking at Apple Ipod Touch devices as job support aids for people with Autism…

…People with autism spectrum disorders … face many obstacles when transitioning from school to full- or part-time employment. They often experience difficulty with time management, interacting with co-workers and managing complex task sequences. They may have trouble performing scheduled activities, such as taking medications or getting to work on time, and may find it hard to control behavioral challenges in the workplace. Finding and keeping employment under these circumstances is a challenge.

The VCU researchers want to know whether a small, hand-held computer can help address these difficulties.

…Participants are trained to use the iPod Touch in a variety of ways. Everyone so far has used reminder alarms to stay on schedule, most have used checklist applications for job duties, and many have utilized custom-made videos to find their way on the job site, model complex tasks, and self-coach customer care behaviors. One participant used a metronome application to help maintain a steady and productive pace at a repetitive task. Another used personal finance applications to manage his budget. A third interacts with his off-site job coach via wi-fi video chat using the Apple Facetime application. Each intervention is individualized for the participant’s job needs, but all leverage the varied functions of an iPod Touch in support of successful work habits.

So far, 18 people have participated in the study. By the end of the project, more than 50 participants will have been trained to use the iPod Touch to support their employment activities. The researchers have found that participants can learn to operate these devices, that they use them independently for job duties and take care of them (only one has broken so far). Early findings show that using an iPod Touch on the job, as trained by an occupational therapist:

• Reduces the hours of job coaching support needed,
• Improves on-time performance of job-related duties,
• Supports independent performance of complex work tasks,
• Supports appropriate social behavior in the workplace,
• Improves worker’s sense of self-efficacy, and
• Is accepted by co-workers as a useful support.

These preliminary findings are encouraging, but the researchers are waiting until the study is completed to analyze and disseminate quantitative results on this first randomized controlled trial of a PDA as a cognitive-behavioral aid for people with autism…

(sources: A Key Set of Resources for Neurodiversity: Assistive Technologies | Dr. Armstrong’s Blog; Dr. Tony Gentry – VCU Department of Occupational Therapy; National Rehabilitation Information Center)