Development of a Mobile App to Improve Numeracy Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Participatory Design and Usability Study.
autism spectrum disorder
education
information and communication technologies
learning
mathematics
mobile app
numeracy
Journal
JMIR pediatrics and parenting
ISSN: 2561-6722
Titre abrégé: JMIR Pediatr Parent
Pays: Canada
ID NLM: 101727244
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
31 Aug 2021
31 Aug 2021
Historique:
received:
16
06
2020
accepted:
17
04
2021
revised:
28
09
2020
entrez:
31
8
2021
pubmed:
1
9
2021
medline:
1
9
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The use of information and communication technologies is transforming the lives of millions of people including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the process of developing a user-friendly and effective mobile app needs to follow a complex standard protocol and culture-sensitive customization, and involves multiple sectors. This complex work becomes even more challenging when considering children with ASD in low- and middle-income countries as the users. This study aimed to design and develop a more intuitive mobile app to improve numeracy skills of children with ASD in Rwanda and evaluate the usability of the app. A participatory design approach was utilized in this study in which 40 children with ASD, 5 teachers, and 10 parents of children with ASD participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) and usability testing. A narrative literature review was performed to explore existing mobile apps and compare previous studies to design the questions for FGD and facilitate a framework for designing the app. The agile methodology was used to develop the mobile app, and the heuristics evaluation method was used to test and evaluate the usability of the initial version of the app to improve its functionalities. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following the guidelines of the qualitative narrative analysis (QNA) method. During the FGDs the respondents shared their need for a mobile app in teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD and pointed to possibilities of integrating the mobile app into existing curriculum. Ten themes emerged from the FGDs and exercise of developing the mobile app. The themes were related to (1) teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD, (2) planning and development of a mobile app for a person with ASD, (3) testing a mobile app, (4) strength of the developed app against the existing ones, (5) behavioral maintenance and relapse prevention, (6) possibilities to integrate the mobile app into the existing curriculum, (7) data protection for users, (8) social implications, (9) challenges in Rwanda, and (10) focus on future. The community plays an important role in the planning, development, and evaluation of a mobile app for children with ASD. In this study, inputs from teachers and parents resulted in an optimally designed mobile app that can improve numeracy skills in children diagnosed with ASD to support the implementation of competency-based curriculum in Rwanda.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The use of information and communication technologies is transforming the lives of millions of people including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the process of developing a user-friendly and effective mobile app needs to follow a complex standard protocol and culture-sensitive customization, and involves multiple sectors. This complex work becomes even more challenging when considering children with ASD in low- and middle-income countries as the users.
OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to design and develop a more intuitive mobile app to improve numeracy skills of children with ASD in Rwanda and evaluate the usability of the app.
METHODS
METHODS
A participatory design approach was utilized in this study in which 40 children with ASD, 5 teachers, and 10 parents of children with ASD participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) and usability testing. A narrative literature review was performed to explore existing mobile apps and compare previous studies to design the questions for FGD and facilitate a framework for designing the app. The agile methodology was used to develop the mobile app, and the heuristics evaluation method was used to test and evaluate the usability of the initial version of the app to improve its functionalities. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following the guidelines of the qualitative narrative analysis (QNA) method.
RESULTS
RESULTS
During the FGDs the respondents shared their need for a mobile app in teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD and pointed to possibilities of integrating the mobile app into existing curriculum. Ten themes emerged from the FGDs and exercise of developing the mobile app. The themes were related to (1) teaching and learning numeracy for children with ASD, (2) planning and development of a mobile app for a person with ASD, (3) testing a mobile app, (4) strength of the developed app against the existing ones, (5) behavioral maintenance and relapse prevention, (6) possibilities to integrate the mobile app into the existing curriculum, (7) data protection for users, (8) social implications, (9) challenges in Rwanda, and (10) focus on future.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The community plays an important role in the planning, development, and evaluation of a mobile app for children with ASD. In this study, inputs from teachers and parents resulted in an optimally designed mobile app that can improve numeracy skills in children diagnosed with ASD to support the implementation of competency-based curriculum in Rwanda.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34463629
pii: v4i3e21471
doi: 10.2196/21471
pmc: PMC8441616
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e21471Informations de copyright
©Theoneste Ntalindwa, Mathias Nduwingoma, Evariste Karangwa, Tanjir Rashid Soron, Alphonse Uworwabayeho, Annette Uwineza. Originally published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting (https://pediatrics.jmir.org), 31.08.2021.
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