Designers at Continuum have developed a teaching aid designed to make working with autistic kids simpler and more rewarding for all involved.
Traditionally, educators have used a method known as ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) when working with autistic children. The process involves a simple reward system whereby the teacher asks a question and if the child gets it right, they are rewarded with a ‘smiley face’ card – and a treat for every five smiley faces they earn.
However, to be effective ABA requires between 20 and 40 hours of work a week. Every question and answer must also be meticulously recorded by the teacher – which can often be distracting for the child. Moreover, the process works best when the parents are involved as well but communicating all that data to the parents has been cumbersome at best.
The prototype learning aid, Puzzle Piece, uses simple technology to automate as much of the process as possible. Each question the teacher asks is displayed on flashcard with a barcode at the bottom. The card is entered into the Puzzle Piece laptop and the child’s answer is recorded with a simple check mark for correct or x for incorrect. The laptop records both the question (via the barcode) and the answer for later reporting.
If the answer is correct, a smiley face appears on the child’s side of the laptop, if it’s wrong, then no smiley face. Ingeniously, the laptop also records the results onto a USB dongle which can then be sent home with child for the parents to review.
Although still at the concept stage, the idea proves that you don’t have to reinvent a process to produce better results – sometimes simply removing the hurdles is innovation enough.
Site: www.dcontinuum.com Via: FastCompany
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