Smartwatches may provide a natural, portable, and unobtrusive strategy by which to support directive-following for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A mentor can send visual supports (e.g., photographs, videos, text) “just-in-time” (JIT) to a learner’s smartwatch. This may reduce the need for extraneous face-to-face intervention within social and educational settings and thereby preserve the naturalness of interactions for individuals with ASD. In this article, the following questions are explored: (1) Will some children with ASD with limited functional speech tolerate wearing a smartwatch after receiving only spoken instructions? (2) Can children with ASD who did not initially tolerate wearing a smartwatch increase their tolerance for wearing a smartwatch after they view video models within a visual schedule? and (3) Will children with ASD who tolerate wearing a smartwatch attend to, and follow, scene cue text messages received on the watch? Results provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility of using a smartwatch with children with ASD. Limitations of this study are addressed and implications for future research are posited.
American Psychological Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
2.
CareyT. S.BodenS. D. (2003). A critical guide to case series reports. Spine, 28, 1631–1634.
3.
CaronJ.LightJ.DragerK. (2016). Operational demands of AAC mobile technology applications on programming vocabulary and engagement during professional and child interactions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 32, 12–24. https://doi.org/10.3109/07434618.2015.1126636
4.
CascioC.McGloneF.FolgerS.TannanV.BaranekG.PelphreyK. A.EssickG. (2008). Tactile perception in adults with autism: A multidimensional psychophysical study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 127–137.
5.
el KalioubyR.TeetersA.PicardR. W. (2006). An exploratory social-emotional prosthetic for autism spectrum disorders. In International Workshop on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks (BSN'06) (pp. 2). IEEE.
6.
EvmenovaA. S.GraffH. J.Genaro MottiV.Giwa-LawalK.ZhengH. (2018). Designing a wearable technology intervention to support young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive postsecondary academic environments. Journal of Special Education Technology, 34, 92–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643418795833
7.
FawkesD. B.MalowB. A.WeissS. K.ReynoldsA. M.LohA.AdkinsK. W.WoffordD. D.WyattA. D.GoldmanS. E. (2015). Conducting actigraphy research in children with neurodevelopmental disorders—A practical approach. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 13, 181–196.
8.
FinnL.RamasamyR.DukesC.ScottJ. (2015). Using WatchMinder to increase the on-task behavior of students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 1408–1418.
9.
GreenJ. M.HughesE. M.RyanJ. B. (2011). The use of assistive technology to improve time management skills of a young adult with an intellectual disability. Journal of Special Education Technology, 26, 13–20.
10.
KeshavN. U.SalisburyJ. P.VahabzadehA.SahinN. T. (2017). Social communication coaching smartglasses: Well tolerated in a diverse sample of children and adults with autism. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5, e140.
11.
KooistraB.DijkmanB.EinhornT. A.BhandariM. (2009). How to design a good case series design. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 91, 21–26.
12.
LeekamS. R.NietoC.LibbyS. J.WingL.GouldJ. (2007). Describing the sensory abnormalities of children and adults with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 894–910.
13.
LequiaJ.MachalicekW.RispoliM. (2012). Effects of activity schedules on challenging behaviors exhibited in children with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 480–492.
14.
LightJ.McNaughtonD.CaronJ. (2019). New and emerging AAC technology supports for children with complex communication needs and their communication partners: State of the science and future research directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 35, 26–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2018.1557251
15.
MadsenM.el KalioubyR.GoodwinM.PicardR. (2008). Technology for just-in-time in-situ learning of facial affect for persons diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Tenth ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS), Halifax, Canada (pp. 19–26).
16.
McNaughtonD.LightJ. C. (2013). The iPad and mobile technology revolution: Benefits and challenges for individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 29, 107–116.
17.
MechlingL. C.GastD. L.CroninB. A. (2006). The effects of presenting high-preference items, paired with choice, via computer video programming on task completion of students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21, 7–13.
18.
MullerK.BradyN. (2016). Assessing early receptive language skills in children with ASD. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1, 12–19.
19.
National Autism Center. (2015). Findings and conclusions: National standards project, phase 2. Author.
20.
O’BrienA.O’BrienM.SchlosserR. W.YuC.AllenA. A.FlynnS.CostelloJ.ShaneH. C. (2017). Repurposing consumer products as a gateway to just-in-time communication. Seminars in Speech and Language, 38, 297–312.
21.
O’BrienA.SchlosserR. W.ShaneH. C.AbramsonJ.AllenA.FlynnS.DimeryK. (2016). Brief report: Just-in-time visual supports to children with autism via the Apple Watch®: A pilot feasibility study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 3818–3823.
22.
OdomS. L.ThompsonJ. L.HedgesS.BoydB. A.DykstraJ. R.DudaM. A.SzidonK. L.SmithL. E.BordA. (2015). Technology-aided interventions and instructions for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3805–3819.
23.
PicardR.GoodwinM. (2008). Innovative technology: The future of personalized autism research and treatment. Autism Advocate, 1, 32–39.
24.
RemnerR.BakerM.KarterC.KearnsK.ShaneH. (2016). Use of augmented input to improve understanding of spoken directives by children with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder. eHearsay, 6, 4–10.
25.
RiceM. L.WarrenS. F.BetzS. K. (2005). Language symptoms of developmental language disorders: An overview of autism, Down syndrome, fragile X, specific language impairment, and Williams syndrome. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26, 7–27
26.
SchlosserR. W.KoulR. (2015). Speech output technologies in interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A scoping review. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31, 285–309.
27.
SchlosserR. W.LaubscherE.SorceJ.KoulR.FlynnS.HotzL.AbramsonJ.FadieH.ShaneH. C. (2013). Implementing directives that involve prepositions with children with autism: A comparison of spoken cues with two types of augmented input. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 29, 132–145.
28.
SchlosserR. W.O’BrienA.YuC.AbramsonJ.AllenA.FlynnS.ShaneH. C. (2017). Repurposing everyday technologies to provide just-in-time visual supports to children with intellectual disability and autism: A pilot feasibility study with the Apple Watch®. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 63, 221–227.
29.
SchlosserR. W.ShaneH. C.AllenA. A.AbramsonJ.LaubscherE.DimeryK. (2016). Just-in-time supports in augmentative and alternative communication. Journal of Physical and Developmental Disabilities, 28, 177–193.
30.
SevcikR. A. (2006). Comprehension: An overlooked component in augmented language development. Disability and Rehabilitation, 28, 159–167.
31.
ShaneH. C.AlbertP. D. (2008). Electronic screen media for persons with autism spectrum disorders: Results of a survey. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 38, 1499–1508.
32.
ShaneH. C.LaubscherE.SchlosserR. W.FadieH. L.SorceJ. F.AbramsonJ. S.FlynnS.CorleyK. (2015). Enhancing communication for individuals with autism: A guide to the Visual Immersion System™. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
33.
ShaneH. C.LaubscherE.SchlosserR. W.FlynnS.SorceJ. F.AbramsonJ. (2012). Applying technology to visually support language and communication in individuals with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1228–1235.
34.
ShepleyS. B.SpriggsA. D.SamudreM.ElliotM. (2018). Increasing daily living independence using video activity schedules in middle school students with intellectual disability. Journal of Special Education Technology, 33, 71–82
35.
ShepleyS. B.SpriggsA. D.SamudreM. D.SartiniE. C. (2019). Initiation and generalization of self-instructed video activity schedules for elementary students with intellectual disability. The Journal of Special Education, 53(1), 51–62.
36.
SoudersM. C.MasonT. B.ValladaresO.BucanM.LevyS. E.MandellD. S.WeaverT. E.Pinto-MartinJ. (2009). Sleep behaviors and sleep quality in children with autism spectrum disorders. Sleep, 32, 1566–1578.
37.
SpriggsA. D.KnightV.SherrowL. (2015). Talking picture schedules: Embedding video models into visual activity schedules to increase independence for students with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 3846–3861.
38.
TomchekS. D.DunnW. (2007). Sensory processing in children with and without autism: A comparative study using the short sensory profile. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 190–200.
39.
TorradoJ. C.GomezJ.MontoroG. (2017). Emotional self-regulation of individuals with autism spectrum disorders: Smartwatches for monitoring and interaction. Sensors, 17, 1359.
40.
VirnesM.KärnäE.VellonenV. (2015). Review of research on children with autism spectrum disorder and the use of technology. Journal of Special Education Technology, 30, 13–27.
41.
WongC.OdomS. L.HumeK. A.CoxA. W.FettigA.KucharczykS.BrockM. E.PlavnickJ. B.FleuryV. P.SchultzT. R. (2015). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A comprehensive review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 1951–1966.
42.
WongC.OdomS. L.HumeK. A.CoxA. W.FettigA.KucharczykS.SchultzT. R. (2014). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. The University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Autism Evidence-Based Practice Review Group.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
