Mobile Aid to Assist with Care Decisions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

MyHeifer is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) intervention application aimed at better understanding patients' behavioral patterns and informing healthcare decisions, easing caregiver burden, and providing an emotional outlet for patients. Children with ASD often struggle with the complexity of human communication because of the array of verbal and nonverbal communication methods at play. Because of this, technological interventions can be a valuable tool for communicating with children with ASD because of their simplicity. Hence the MyHeifer application seeks to provide an uncomplicated environment for children with ASD to express and explore their emotions. Children perform “actions” or “interactions” which are classified as either positive or negative behaviors. Through these interactions, children learn various ways to react to situations. The choices children make are collected and serve as a basis for future healthcare decisions. Because communication is often difficult for children with ASD, utilizing data from past actions or interactions helps caregivers anticipate and understand the challenges to make better emotional and behavioral connections in individual patients in order to address personalized care needs.