ASA's 36th National Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders (July 13-16, 2005)

• Recorded Presentation

The forum will be organized by the Autism Software Developer's Association (ASDA). ASDA is a newly created association to facilitate the creation of effective and affordable software useful for teaching individuals with Autism spectrum disorders.

The session moderator will briefly introduce typical issues related to the range of educational needs of individuals with autism, and with teaching these individuals via the computer.

Each panel member will have 5-7 minutes (depending on final number of participating companies) to overview their software or research. Each member will have access to a computer and projection system.

Each software vender representative will overview their product or products. The overviews will cover what is being taught, who would benefit, how the individual uses the software, what methods are incorporated to accommodate the educational needs of an individual with autism, what is the supporting research or educational practice, how is the program configured for the individual, and what is the price structure.

Research panelists will present research on methods and not on research related to specific products. Each researcher will overview their research related to computer based instruction. They will overview the specific educational goal, the general characteristics of the individual, the fundamental methods of teaching individuals with autism with software, and general conclusions.

After the overviews, the panel will focus on a discussion of the individual theories and methods, how they compliment each other, strengths, weakness, future directions etc. The panel will also discuss the limitations of mainstream software.

The final 15 minutes will be opened up to questions from the audience.

There are several goals for the panel presentation. * To educate the potential users of software on what to look for in determining appropriate software for specific students. * To improve software offerings through the interaction with other software developers and researchers. * To bring attention to the research on teaching software for individuals with autism.

Most of the panel members have been identified, but the complete panel will not be named before the deadline for this proposal submission. We plan to have 1 or 2 more researchers, and possibly 1 more software vender. The current panel members are:

Moderator: Dr. Robert Stromer, University of Mass, Shriver Center.

Researchers: Dr. Robert Stromer, University of Mass, Shriver Center. Research Area:

Software Venders: Karl Smith, Accelerations Educational Software Dr. Jeffrey Weisman, UltimateLearning for Kids Robert Caron, CompuThera Software Dr. Lars Liden, TeachTown Mark Shelley, Special Minds Foundation Laurie Jacobs, Social Skill Builder, Inc.

Dr. Stromer will reflect on efforts to begin to develop and disseminate effective and practical computer tools for end users – teachers, clinicians, and parents – that seek to educate children with autism spectrum disorders and other related disabilities. He describes a bottom-up, user-referenced approach committed to the research and development of teaching methods that integrate computer supports and advances in research on activity schedules and related topics. Illustrative examples include early-stage feasibility analyses that combine the benefits of learning via multimedia software programs and the practicality of notebook scheduling and communication systems. The findings buttress past feasibility research and support a plan of formal research and development of best practices programs and training materials (e.g., manuals, videos, and DVDs).

Accelerations Educational Software creates software especially for autism and other disabilities. Their product, the Discrete Trial Trainer is a large package of 126 content programs covering receptive language, early academics, and life skills that are appropriate for individuals developmentally from 2 to 9 years old. The content ranges from basic objects, colors, letters, numbers, and shapes to time, money, and on the highest end, math word problems. The software incorporates behavioral methods to allow most even very low functioning students to use the software independently. The DT Trainer is highly configurable and incorporates a large set of selectable reinforcers to motivate students. AES focuses on creating products that are effective, can be used independently, and are affordable for most parents and schools.

Ultimate Learning for Kids offers several software packages for individuals with autism. Fun with Feelings software is aimed at reducing frustration through a fun filled journey into the world of feelings. Fun with Feelings presents visual and verbal clues along with situational factors from which the user can deduce clues to one's emotional state. Problem Solvers system takes the how-to's of acquiring knowledge and transforms this process into a fun and exciting game for children ages 3 to 10 years old. With the Problem Solvers software, children can gain the skills they need to improve their overall ability to learn in a fun-filled, game-style environment. The Sound Readers software for PCs was developed to help both parents and educators utilize music to better reach and involve children in the learning experience. Sound Readers uses repetition of words and lyrics, along with speed changes in the music to facilitate word recognition and concept comprehension.

The CompuThera software addresses the needs of children with autism, both verbal and non verbal, teaching cognitive skills both receptively and expressively as well as vocabulary acquisition and reading skills. It has been first used in special education classes in Prince George's county (Maryland) and since in a dozen other school districts in the US and hundreds of home therapy programs in English speaking countries worldwide. It is currently being translated in French and Hebrew.

TeachTown is an exciting new curriculum designed specifically for children with special needs, particularly those with a diagnosis within the autism spectrum. TeachTown consists of an educational curriculum that includes entertaining educational programs that captivate the imaginations of children and teach them vital learning skills.

Special Minds Foundation is currently in the early stages of creating the Social Stories Library. This product will include hundreds of video, text, and picture format social stories on the computer. The product is a collaboration of Special Minds, Carol Gray, and Accelerations Educational Software. This project will convert to video a large number of current Social Stories as well as create new ones. The product will be priced affordably for home and school use.

Social Skill Builder products include: The Birthday Party CD-ROM which is centered around the social interaction and language associated with a real life birthday party. It addresses the different emotions, space, volume and language that are appropriate for both the host and guests during a special birthday event. My School Day CD-ROM which uses real video footage to take the child into a typical school day, including the classroom, cafeteria, and playground! This program allows the child to view appropriate interaction and social behaviors within the school environment and interact! My Community CD-ROM which teaches children and young people appropriate social behaviors, interactions, expectations and safety precautions with various peers and adults within their community.