Building Evidence for Technology and Autism BETA: Building Evidence for Technology and Autism Vanessa Zervogianni, Sue Fletcher-Watson, Gerardo Herrera, Matthew Goodwin, Patricia Perez, Mark Brosnan, Ouriel Grynszpan

What will we do today? 1.Presentation of our motivation and methods: Collaborative study. 2. Share your experience about evidence for technology and autism with the researcher and other participants. 3. Use the online tool: Select a digital product for autistic users and rate its level of evidence under our guidance. 4. Q&A

Different stakeholders - Same concern Autistic people and families: Money and time on interventions that actually work Practitioners: Integrate into their practice and recommend appropriate tech Best evidence? Developers: How to support and validate their products

EBP Evidence-Based Practice Term originating from the medical field Best available research Clinical expertise Patient values & circumstances Healthcare system policies EBP Evidence-Based Practice What is it?

EBP In digital technology for autism Plethora of apps Promising claims Personalised options Varying goals EBP In digital technology for autism Why do we need it?

Rapid scientific publication rate

Thousands of ‘Autism apps’ on popular app stores

Reviews?

Different disciplines Different goals and methods Informatics Engineering Design Psychology Health science Education

What did we want to find out? What evidence to look for Where to look for evidence How to assess the evidence

Delphi study The Delphi method Experts on a field reach consensus on a specific topic Communication on an online platform Anonymous Feedback managed by moderator at all stages

Goals, methods and participants per round Brainstorming 1 Open questions about: types of evidence they use specific examples of evidence Autistic people Families Professionals Categorisation of evidence 2 Organise evidence in categories Identify new types of evidence Autistic people Families Professionals Refinement 3 Ranking of a long list of items Justification of choices Autistic people Families Professionals Researchers Finalisation 4 Ranking of top items Final modifications in wording Autistic people Families Professionals Researchers

For what aspects of technology do we need to look for evidence? Reliability Engagement Effectiveness The efficacy of a product at the level of engineering. Is it technically sound / functional? How well does it work? e.g. Does the face recognition functionality actually work? Does the app crash often? The user perception of the technology. How usable, pleasant and accessible is the product for the specific users? Its ease of use / look & feel. The outcome of using the product. How much impact does it have to the people using it? Does it make an observable difference in the user’s life/behaviour?

Academic papers / opinions Sources of evidence Trying it out A trial version is available. Its functions can be explored. Whether it is motivating to use in the short/medium/long term can be evaluated. It is clear how the trial version differs from the full version. Online reviews Review websites and social media groups contain information about the product. Reviews from autistic users and their families have been included. People having used the product for a (relatively) long time have expressed their views. Many reviews are available for comparison to improve objectivity. Expert opinions Opinions about the product have been made by experts (e.g., autistic people or other people with specialist skills and relevant experience with technology), relevant professionals (e.g, a specialist teacher, speech and language therapist, specialist psychologist, etc.), or relevant organisations / agencies (e.g., an autism society). Academic papers / opinions Academic/ scientific outputs (e.g., articles, interviews) evaluating the product are available and the quality of the research can be established (e.g. peer-reviews or systematics analyses combining results from multiple independent studies). The scientist’s relevant qualifications, affiliations and potential conflicts of interest can be reviewed.

Discussion

Try out the online tool

Rate your chosen product for its level of evidence! Go to this web address: http://www.asdtech.ed.ac.uk/beta ‘Click to rate the evidence of any digital product for autism’

http://www.asdtech.ed.ac.uk > Online resources

Q&A

Thank you! http://www.asdtech.ed.ac.uk/beta Visit (and subscribe): Email for questions/info: vz235@bath.ac.uk