Psychological variables related to technology-mediated intervention design in autism spectrum disorder.
Parents, teachers, and therapists want different things from the same autism app—ask first, build second.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chistol et al. (2024) asked 61 adults how they feel about tech tools for kids with autism. The group mixed parents, teachers, and therapists. They used an online survey to map which design features matter most to each group.
The survey looked at trust, ease, and worry about screen time. No kids were trained; the team only logged opinions.
What they found
Each stakeholder group scored the same tool differently. Therapists cared most about data tracking. Parents feared too much screen time. Teachers wanted fast setup. These gaps show one size will not fit all.
No single design won top marks from every group. The authors list the top three must-haves for each role.
How this fits with other research
Nohelty et al. (2023) also ran a caregiver survey and found high marks for telehealth ABA. Both papers agree families like remote help, but Mihaela adds that parent worries can still block uptake.
Hao et al. (2021) showed telehealth parent coaching works as well as in-person. Mihaela extends that work by showing which bells and whistles make parents actually log on.
Simacek et al. (2020) scoping review covers 22 telehealth studies yet never asks about design taste. Mihaela fills that gap by turning the lens on the user before the trial starts.
Lde Leeuw et al. (2024) proved kids can co-create digital Social Stories. Mihaela’s data hint parents may resist child-led features, an apparent contradiction that fades when you see LJ used older youth while Mihaela polled adults of preschool kids.
Why it matters
Before you buy or build the next app, poll your exact users. If parents dread screen time, add a timer and offline sheets. If therapists want graphs, export the data as a one-click CSV. Match the tool to the worry and you will see better buy-in and smoother sessions.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent impairments in communication, social interaction and learning (Hodges et al., 2020). Because of its heterogeneous nature, ASD presents complex challenges, including social exclusion, school abandonment and limited access to health care. Technologies offer a pragmatic solution to overcome these limitations and to deliver therapeutic interventions in both physical and online environments. Studies have demonstrated that technology-mediated interventions (TMIs) have a positive impact on the development of capabilities of individuals with ASD. However, according to the European Parliament's Research Service technologies for ASDs are less mature (European Parliament. Directorate General for Parliamentary Research Services., 2018) and the causes and effects of TMIs in ASD should be better understood. AIMS: Present study aimed to investigate the psychological variables related to TMIs in ASD. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The study employed a survey research method with a between-subjects design involving 61 adult participants comprising therapists, teachers and parents of children with ASD and it examined psychological variables related to children with ASD, factors of technology usage, and parental and educators' experiences. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaire focused on correlations and differences between groups, and was carried out using nonparametric tests. Kendall's Tau B test was used to explore the relationships between variables. The Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was employed to identify differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings revealed numerous relationships between variables and meaningful differences between the groups investigated in terms of how technologies are perceived by stakeholders involved in ASD interventions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104826