Assistive Technology for Autism

How Can Assistive Technology Help People With Autism?

According to the British Medical Association, around 700,000 people in the UK have an autism diagnosis. Also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), symptoms exist on a spectrum ranging from mild to severe. No two people experience the same symptoms but there are some common difficulties:  

• Social communication and interaction: Interpreting verbal and non-verbal communication is often more difficult for people with ASD. 
• Repetitive and restrictive behaviour: Repetitive behaviours help people with autism feel calmer and release emotional energy. 
• Sensory sensitivities to light, sound, touch, and taste: Around 90% of people with autism have atypical sensory experiences that may include hyposensitivity or hypersensitivity.  
• Anxiety, meltdowns, and burnout: People with Level 3 autism, the more severe type, can experience autistic meltdowns. 

Let’s review the key benefits of Assistive Technology for Autism and how it helps individuals to overcome their challenges.  

Enables Better Social Interaction

Many people with autism struggle to engage and converse in social situations. Misreading social cues or not responding when spoken to can lead to misunderstandings, judgements, and social isolation. Assistive Tech can help individuals to overcome these challenges through an alternative means of expression. Tools such as dictation and text-to-speech software can offer a medium for people with autism to express themselves more fluently.  

Facilitates Autonomy and Control

A wide range of Assistive Technology for Autism tools can support better independence and a sense of control. For instance, adding captions to live Facetime calls can help to reduce anxiety in people with ASD. And, of sound levels are too much for the senses, they offer a more controlled means of communication. Autistic burnout can affect over three-quarters of people with autism. So, it’s vital for people that people with ASD to feel a sense of control over their environments and limit their exposure to too much stimulation.  

Encourages Skill Development

Other types of Assistive Technology for Autism can work as training and education tools. For instance, video modeling helps people with autism improve social interaction and self-management skills. Collaboration and building relationships are important for success in life. Video modeling helps people with ASD build these skills through understanding body language, spoken word subtleties, sarcasm, and other non-verbal cues. 

Boosts Productivity

Staff with autism can achieve a third better productivity than their neurotypical peers, when supported. Plenty of appropriate types of Assistive Technology for Autism can bring out the strengths of people with ASD. And this is important to do if workplaces want to take advantage of their creativity, computational thinking, and unique ways of thinking. 

What Types of Assistive Technology Benefit People With Autism?

Let’s run through some of the key types of Assistive Technology for Autism that can help individuals to thrive and bring their talents to their working and educational lives.   

Communication Tools

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is the term used to describe Assistive Technology for Autism that supports communication. Some people with autism can be non-verbal, for example, and depend on technology to communicate in most situations.

Key modes of communication through Assistive Tech include:  

• Text-to-speech: Non-verbal individuals, who can write well, can use this technology to verbalise their written thoughts and ideas.  
• Captioning: Captioning can enhance communication for people with autism who struggle to notice non-verbal cues and inferences. By clarifying words in the text, people with ASD get to focus on reading body language and any subtext in communication.  
• Visual supports: Photos, short videos, coloured pictures, and a range of autism apps can all support people across the spectrum to communicate with others. 
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): Also a form of visual communication, PECS enable users to choose pictures on a screen to communicate their wants and needs.  

Sensory Management Tools

Sensory overwhelm is a common experience for people with ASD. Senses may be stimulates by noises, lights, tastes, textures, or crowded and busy places. Different forms of Assistive Technology for Autism can help to mitigate these impacts and reduce expsosure. 

• Wearable devices: Wearable technology that fits to your body can help to send alerts to users when sound or light levels are too high. They can also track health and aid in sleep
• Autism apps: A range of apps allow users to set up alerts to monitor sensory inputs, mood and happiness levels, and find ways to address these issues like calming their nervous systems.  
• Noise-cancelling headphones: There’s a wide range of noise-cancelling headphones on the market to suit different needs that help to filter our sensory disturbances. 
• Sensory toys: Sensory toys can stimulate different senses and cognitive functions. They can support mental and speech development too. 

Skills Training Tools

• Video modelling: Using a series of video presentations to teach and educate people with autism, video modelling is effective for improving task completion. Research carried out on 24 males aged 6-8 showed video modelling had a positive and significant effect on social skills for these children. 
• Autism apps: There’s a wide selection of apps that support skills and mental training. Engaging with an app can also boost confidence, independence, and reduce anxiety. 

Free Assistive Technology for Autism

Both staff and students who live with autism can get financial assistance to support them with appropriate forms of Assistive Tech. The UK government offers two funding pots, one for students and another for staff and employees. Each one can support them obtaining the most appropriate types of Assistive Technology for Autism: 

• Access to Work: Staff in employment can apply for funding through the Access to Work scheme. This won’t replace any reasonable adjustments an employer must make but will support with funding specific AT interventions. 
• Disabled Students Allowance: Students with autism can get Assistive Technology to support them to achieve their goals in Higher Education through the Disabled Students Allowance. Funding supports students of all ages.      

Autism Assistive Technology Tools for University

Let’s run through a quick list of tech tools that can help students with ASD achieve their potential at University or college.  

• Caption.Ed: Caption.Ed offers an effective tool, not only for communication but for learning and skills development too. Captioning boosts comprehension while decoding complex terminology that’s often found in science and technology subjects. Transcripts also reduce anxieties around missing important points.  
• TalkType: TalkType is a form of speech-to-text software that students with autism may find helpful for writing ideas, thoughts, and discussions during their studies. 
• Video modeling: Students with autism may be very visual learners So, a course of video-based learning could support them to develop skills in challenging areas. 

Autism Assistive Technology Tools for the Workplace

Assistive Technology for Autism helps people in workplace settings in many ways. Here are some key examples of how it improves communication, learning, and sensory integration: 

• Caption.Ed: Captioning can help to reduce sensory overwhelm during meetings. People with autism may prefer to dial into meetings using MS Teams or Zoom to feel more in control of the environmental impacts. Captions can help them absorb words and focus on developing relationships with participants. 
• TalkType: TalkType is lightning-fast dictation tech that removes communication barriers but can also provide written transcripts to use for skills development.    
• Noise-cancelling headphones: Noise-cancelling headphones are effective at helping users filter out background noises and manage any sensory disturbances.