A new mobile app has been launched that is hoping to tap into the creative juices of people with autism to find new tech solutions to some of the everyday challenges they face.
‘ASCmeI.T.’, a free mobile app available on Android and Apple, has been developed by a consortium of researchers from our University and the Universities of Southampton and Sussex with the simple aim of involving people with autism in the development of new technologies that could help them.
What kind of technologies would help?
It enables people with Autism Spectrum Conditions – as well as families, teachers, professionals, and anyone who supports someone with autism – to share their ideas on what kind of new technology would best help.
Through the app, users upload a one minute video explaining their idea which will be shared with researchers so that new developments in digital technologies for autism can be matched to support the needs of users.
Despite there being more than half a million people living with autism in the UK (around 1 in every 100), this is the first time such an initiative has been piloted. The researchers now hope it will lead to new developments - anything from technologies to support transitions, service delivery or inclusion through to bullying, learning or employment - that will be uniquely attuned to the needs of those with autism.
This project builds on another, led by Lisa Austin within the Department for Health at the University of Bath, ‘ifOnly’ which crowdsourced ideas for assistive technology that could help the elderly and people living with disabilities. This initiative was cited in a recent Parliamentary Report.
Find out more here.