Designing a Customizable Picture-Based Augmented Reality Application For Therapists and Educational Professionals Working in Autistic Contexts

Abstract

This paper presents the design and evaluation of CustomAR – a customizable Augmented Reality (AR) application, designed in collaboration with therapists, that allows them to create and customize picture-based AR experiences for use in an autistic context. Using a 2-week diary study, we gauge whether the application’s customization options and features are sufficient to allow therapists and educational professionals to create AR experiences for the various learning activities they conduct with autistic children, and what challenges they face in this regard. We find that participants think the application would be suitable for creating AR experiences for a wide range of learning activities, such as choice-making and teaching daily living skills, and think that the application’s freeze feature can be helpful when working with children with limited attention. Towards the end of the paper we discuss the challenges users face when trying to incorporate picture-based AR in practical therapy exercises, and how they can be addressed.