2019/11/02 by Katta Spiel, Christopher Frauenberger, Os Keyes +1 · 4 citations
Computer Science · Neuroscience · Social Sciences · #Autism Spectrum Disorder Research #Child Development and Digital Technology #Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
paper · doi:10.1145/3344919
openalex publication_date 2019/11/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Autistic children are increasingly a focus of technology research within the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community. We provide a critical review of the purposes of these technologies and how they discursively conceptualise the agency of autistic children. Through our analysis, we establish six categories of these purposes: behaviour analysis, assistive technologies, education, social skills, therapy and well-being. Further, our discussion of these purposes shows how the technologies embody normative expectations of a neurotypical society, which predominantly views autism as a medical deficit in need of ‘correction’. Autistic children—purportedly the beneficiaries of these technologies—thus become a secondary audience to the largely externally defined purposes. We identify a lack of design for technologies that are geared towards the interests, needs and desires of autistic children. To move HCI’s research into autism beyond this, we provide guidance on how to consider agency in use and explicitly allow for appropriation beyond externally driven goals.