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A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study

BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit difficulties in social and communication skills. For more than 30 years, specialists, parents, and caregivers have used techniques, such as applied behavioral analysis, augmentative and alternative communication, and the pictu...

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Autores principales: Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi, Al-Thani, Dena, Banire, Bilikis
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8693202/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34878998
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/33123
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author Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi
Al-Thani, Dena
Banire, Bilikis
author_facet Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi
Al-Thani, Dena
Banire, Bilikis
author_sort Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit difficulties in social and communication skills. For more than 30 years, specialists, parents, and caregivers have used techniques, such as applied behavioral analysis, augmentative and alternative communication, and the picture exchange communication system to support the social and communication skills of people with ASD. Even though there are many techniques devised to enhance communication, these techniques are not considered in existing social media apps for people with ASD. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of adding accessibility features, such as text-to-speech (TTS), speech-to-text (STT), and communication symbols (CS), to a messaging app (MAAN). We hypothesized that these accessibility features can enhance the social and communication skills of adults with ASD. We also hypothesized that usage of this app can reduce social loneliness in adults with ASD. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 experts working in fields related to ASD to help design the app. Seven adults with ASD participated in the study for a period of 10 to 16 weeks. Data logs of participants’ interactions with the app were collected. Additionally, 6 participants’ parents and 1 caregiver were asked to complete a short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S) questionnaire to compare pre-post study results. The Mobile Application Rating Scale: user version questionnaire was also used to evaluate the app’s usability. Following the study, interviews were conducted with participants to discuss their experiences with the app. RESULTS: The SELSA-S questionnaire results showed no change in the family subscale; however, the social loneliness subscale showed a difference between prestudy and poststudy. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that poststudy SELSA-S results were statistically significantly higher than prestudy results (z=−2.047; P=.04). Point-biserial correlation indicated that the SELSA-S rate of change was strongly related to usage of the TTS feature (r=0.708; P=.04) and CS feature (r=−0.917; P=.002), and moderately related to usage of the STT feature (r=0.428; P=.17). Lastly, we adopted grounded theory to analyze the interview data, and the following 5 categories emerged: app support, feature relevance, user interface design, overall feedback, and recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: This study discusses the potential for improving the communication skills of adults with ASD through special features in mobile messaging apps. The developed app aims to support the inclusion and independent life of adults with ASD. The study results showed the importance of using TTS, STT, and CS features to enhance social and communication skills, as well as reduce social loneliness in adults with ASD.
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spelling pubmed-86932022022-01-10 A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi Al-Thani, Dena Banire, Bilikis JMIR Form Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit difficulties in social and communication skills. For more than 30 years, specialists, parents, and caregivers have used techniques, such as applied behavioral analysis, augmentative and alternative communication, and the picture exchange communication system to support the social and communication skills of people with ASD. Even though there are many techniques devised to enhance communication, these techniques are not considered in existing social media apps for people with ASD. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of adding accessibility features, such as text-to-speech (TTS), speech-to-text (STT), and communication symbols (CS), to a messaging app (MAAN). We hypothesized that these accessibility features can enhance the social and communication skills of adults with ASD. We also hypothesized that usage of this app can reduce social loneliness in adults with ASD. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 experts working in fields related to ASD to help design the app. Seven adults with ASD participated in the study for a period of 10 to 16 weeks. Data logs of participants’ interactions with the app were collected. Additionally, 6 participants’ parents and 1 caregiver were asked to complete a short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S) questionnaire to compare pre-post study results. The Mobile Application Rating Scale: user version questionnaire was also used to evaluate the app’s usability. Following the study, interviews were conducted with participants to discuss their experiences with the app. RESULTS: The SELSA-S questionnaire results showed no change in the family subscale; however, the social loneliness subscale showed a difference between prestudy and poststudy. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that poststudy SELSA-S results were statistically significantly higher than prestudy results (z=−2.047; P=.04). Point-biserial correlation indicated that the SELSA-S rate of change was strongly related to usage of the TTS feature (r=0.708; P=.04) and CS feature (r=−0.917; P=.002), and moderately related to usage of the STT feature (r=0.428; P=.17). Lastly, we adopted grounded theory to analyze the interview data, and the following 5 categories emerged: app support, feature relevance, user interface design, overall feedback, and recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: This study discusses the potential for improving the communication skills of adults with ASD through special features in mobile messaging apps. The developed app aims to support the inclusion and independent life of adults with ASD. The study results showed the importance of using TTS, STT, and CS features to enhance social and communication skills, as well as reduce social loneliness in adults with ASD. JMIR Publications 2021-12-07 /pmc/articles/PMC8693202/ /pubmed/34878998 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/33123 Text en ©Mohamad Hassan Fadi Hijab, Dena Al-Thani, Bilikis Banire. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 07.12.2021. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Hijab, Mohamad Hassan Fadi
Al-Thani, Dena
Banire, Bilikis
A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title_full A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title_fullStr A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title_full_unstemmed A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title_short A Multimodal Messaging App (MAAN) for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study
title_sort multimodal messaging app (maan) for adults with autism spectrum disorder: mixed methods evaluation study
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8693202/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34878998
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/33123
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