Wendy Keay-Bright

• Cardiff Metropolitan University

Drawing on many years of developing playful software applications with young people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, this chapter will offer ideas on how gesture-based technologies can empower people who need high levels of support in their everyday lives. Our design goal has been to facilitate a mindful, non-goal-directed experience throu...

Methods for observing, registering and understanding movement have become increasingly sophisticated given the advancements in data capture, simulation and analysis, however there is still much to learn when questioning the kinesthetic properties of movement and how they relate to intersubjective phenomena and social flow. Our project, Dancing in D...

Experimental intervention studies constitute the current dominant research designs in the autism education field. Such designs are based on a ‘knowledge transfer’ model of evidence-based practice in which research is conducted by researchers, and is then ‘transferred’ to practitioners to enable them to implement evidence-based interventions. While...

We have proposed a method to assist children with coordination difficulties or dyspraxia to improve their handwriting skills. We have chosen an animation technique called ‘Rotoscopy’, a method that normally been used in animation and film production and adapted it to Rotoscopy Prehandwriting Interface (RPI) prototypes using the interactive whiteboa...

The aim of this chapter is to discuss a range of computer applications designed to enable people with disabilities to interact through music, dance, and the visual arts. A review of the main motion tracking algorithms and software environments is included as well as an overview of theoretical positions regarding the mapping of real time extracted m...

The aim of this chapter is to discuss a range of computer applications designed to enable people with disabilities to interact through music, dance, and the visual arts. A review of the main motion tracking algorithms and software environments is included as well as an overview of theoretical positions regarding the mapping of real time extracted m...

Involving children in the design process of interactive technology can greatly enhance its likelihood of successful adoption. However, children's input and ideas require careful interpretation to reach viable designs and technical specifications, which poses a significant challenge to an adult design research team. In this paper we discuss our appr...

This paper documents the making of ReacTickles MAGIC, a series of exploratory technology applications that use multi touch and sensor inputs on consumer devices. The ReacTickles concept is based on cause and effect activities that are highly responsive to individual interest. Especially targeted have been individuals on the autism spectrum who expe...

This article presents and discusses co-creation techniques for involving children in the design of a technologically enhanced learning environment. The ECHOES project, which involves both typically developing children and children with autism spectrum conditions, aims to create an environment that scaffolds the development of children's social skil...

This article presents a conceptualisation of technologies as simple, ambient forms. By avoiding the tendency to solve problems and by being open to interaction that emerges through repetition and flow, we argue that technology can offer more for people than functionality. When the user is given freedom to discover control without burdensome cogniti...

The philosophical discipline of phenomenology provides the designer with a framework for studying user experience by affording an intrinsically contextual view of the way we interact with things around us. In this paper we argue that phenomenology also plays a critical role in participatory design when it is undertaken as an interpretive and genera...

This paper describes how researchers from diverse research disciplines are working together with design teams of children, carers and practitioners to create an exploratory multimodal environment for children. This learning environment, entitled ECHOES II, aims to be both an educational intervention and an environment through which we research chil...

This article presents a vision of information communication technologies (ICTs) as a playful trigger for relaxation and exploration, and investigates the benefits of this approach for young children with autism spectrum conditions. Playfulness in this context is considered for its repetitious, rhythmic and experiential value rather than as an inter...

This report describes the early design stages of ReacTickles Global, a new phase of the Reactive Colours project that is being developed collaboratively with designers from the Welsh Institute of Research in Art and Design (WIRAD), end users and an advisory panel from a range of related disciplines. The broad aim of ReacTickles Global is to explore...

This paper describes, ReacTickles Global, an exploratory project that will investigate the potential of mobile and Internet technologies to encourage creativity and social interaction for young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The paper will draw upon the experiences and outcomes of the Reactive Colours project, which developed on the basis...

The positive role that technology can play in learning has been well researched and whilst there have been arguments raised by some that computer use, particularly with young children, may drain precious cognitive resources, there has been significant progress in the area of embodied tangible technologies. Drawing on this research and bringing toge...

People on the autistic spectrum are characterised as having difficulties with social and communicative functioning. They are understood to have unusual sensory experiences, in any modality, which means that their perception of the world is alarmingly different from non-autistic people. These experiences create confusion and anxiety, and for many au...

ReActivities are digital play sequences which encourage the integration of social, emotional and cognitive development in children on the autistic spectrum. High levels of anxiety in autistic children can inhibit playful experiences and increase the rigid, stereotypical and challenging behaviours which have a negative effect in social situations. I...

This paper reports on an investigation into the potential of everyday technologies to foster playful experiences for young children prior to their formal education. The aim is to consider how best to design age appropriate experiences that are desirable and useful within pre-school settings, and to assist practitioners in experimenting with technol...

By definition, individuals on the autistic spectrum have difficulties with social interaction and communication; their different cognitive and sensory processing occurs in every modality and can result in a perception of the physical world that is fragmented, alarming and very different from non-autistic people. This can lead to high levels of fear...