Tablet-Based Activity Schedule for Children with Autism in Mainstream Environment
Charles Fage, Léonard Pommereau, Charles Consel, Émilie Balland, Hélène Sauzéon · 2014 · ASSETS '14: Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility · doi:10.1145/2661334.2661369
Summary
This paper presents Classroom Schedule+ (CS+), a tablet-based activity schedule application designed to support the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream classrooms. Unlike previous activity schedule technologies designed for special education settings, CS+ was specifically developed for general education classrooms through a participatory design process involving mainstream teachers, special-education teachers, and school aides. The application addresses two activity domains identified as priorities by educators: classroom routines (e.g., taking out school supplies, going to classroom, listening and taking notes) and verbal communication (e.g., talking to teacher, answering a classmate). Each activity is decomposed into short step-by-step sequences with idiosyncratic visual supports—photographs of the specific child performing the required actions—paired with text labels to promote reading skills. Five design principles emerged from the participatory process: promote reading skills through visual double-coding, keep sequences short, use concrete and personalised pictures, show progress status with visual timers, and avoid audio to prevent sensory exclusion and stigma.
Key findings
A three-month study with 10 secondary school students with moderate ASD (ages 13-17, five equipped with CS+ and five controls) demonstrated significant improvements. Children reached autonomous use of the application after two months. Equipped children showed significantly greater improvement in correctly performing both classroom routines and verbal communication activities compared to non-equipped controls (p<.01 for equipped vs p>.100 for controls). Usage patterns differed by domain: CS+ use for classroom routines was high initially but decreased as children mastered those skills, while verbal communication schedule use remained constant, suggesting these social communication skills require ongoing support. The number of activated routines decreased over time, indicating children were internalising the routines and needing less external guidance. Importantly, the collaborative evaluation involving all stakeholders (teachers, aides, parents) facilitated technology acceptance in the mainstream classroom.
Relevance
This research addresses a critical gap in assistive technology for inclusive education: supporting children with ASD in mainstream classrooms rather than only in special education settings. For accessibility practitioners and educators, the participatory design approach reveals important principles for mainstream inclusion technology—particularly the need to avoid audio (to prevent stigma and exclusion), use idiosyncratic rather than generic visual supports, and keep interactions brief to minimize disruption. The finding that different skill domains require different levels of ongoing support has practical implications for how assistive tools should adapt over time. The study demonstrates that tablets are well-suited for classroom inclusion because they carry no disability stigma—they are seen as mainstream devices. While limited by sample size and IQ range, this work provides a model for designing technology that bridges the gap between special and general education.
Tags: autism spectrum disorder · education · inclusive education · activity schedules · tablet · participatory design · visual supports · cognitive accessibility
Standards referenced: DSM-IV