www.first-asd.euwww.openbooktool.net

• Introduction• About Autism• Audience / market• How the program will work• Software development process• Involvement of people with Autism• The final product• Technical specifications• Availability• Training• More information & updates• Project partners• Acknowledgements

Contents

• A tool for simplifying documents and text• Primarily for people with Autism who have

difficulty with understanding regular text• Converts written information into a simpler formateg. English > simplified Englisheg. Spanish > simplified Spanish• Using computerised language technology, it

removes the need for a human editor, improving independence and social inclusion of people with Autism

• Developed by 9 organisations under a European Commission FP7 Programme funded 3-year cooperative research project

• First version will be available in late 2014 (in English, Spanish & Bulgarian)

Introducing a new software program

Autism is a disability A ‘spectrum’ of disorders, with common characteristics:

Impairments in communication Impairments in social interaction Impairments in understanding information

The level of impairment ranges from mild to severe Impairments and symptoms vary between individuals,

but all have difficulties in the 3 areas above Current research estimates that around 1 in 100-150

people fit the diagnostic criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder*

* Barthélémy et al, 2008, Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Identification, Understanding & Intervention

About Autism

About Autism (…continued)

Audience / market

• It converts electronic documents into a simplified form that is easier for people with Autism to read

• Document types that can be converted include: web pages, e-books, .pdf documents

• Simplified documents are output in xml format

• Simplified documents are personalised to users’ reading abilities and preferences

How the program will work

How the program will work

How the program will work

Software development

process

Testing & evaluation

Designing system architecture & user interface

Identifying user requirements

Processing structural complexity of languagesProcessing ambiguity in meaning of wordsGenerating personalised documents

Identifying user requirements - General•Research during early phase of software development to define the needs of people with Autism (in relation to accessing text documents) more clearly than any previous studies•Focus group discussions with sample group of people with Autism• Results to determine general user requirements &

to formulate questions for the software’s ‘user preference survey’

Software development

process

Identifying user requirements - Individual• The software is programmed to identify each

individual user’s reading abilities• The software prompts each new user to respond to a

series of questions in a ‘user preference survey’ • The answers given enable the software to determine

users’ reading abilities and complexity thresholds• The software then simplifies documents according to

the level of complexity that the user can understand (Eg. at a certain level of complexity, the software will be triggered to remove words or sentences that will be difficult for the user to understand)

Software development

process

Processing structural complexity of languages•Identifying:

- Long complex words - Long complex sentences

• Replacing these elements with:- Shorter, more commonly used words (using Lexical

Processor) - Two or more sentences, and or bullet points (using

Syntactic Processor)

Software development

process

Processing ambiguity in meaning of words•Identifying:

- Words with multiple meanings- Words / phrases that are rare, specialised/technical or have

non-literal meanings (eg. metaphors, idioms, etc)

•Providing:- A definition of the word- A set of images or pictograms to enhance understanding of

the concept- Semantic class (eg. for ambiguous words, a

category/context for the word as it is used in the specific text)

Software development

process

Generating personalised documents•Before simplifying each document, the software prompts users to answer a series of ‘pre-reading questions’ that will help them to understand the document •For example, if the document to be simplified is about cooking, the pre-reading questions might ask the user to identify items found in a kitchen•Based on previous research*, this can assist users to put the information they are about to read into perspective

* O'Connor & Klein, 2004, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34 (2).

Software development

process

Generating personalised documents•Personalised documents include:

- Interactive table of contents- Heading- Converted summarised text (with

sub-headings)- Images- Simple layout design that aids

understanding

Software development

process

Designing system architecture & user interface•Combining the parts to create a functioning software system •Designing a user interface for people with Autism that contains minimal visual distractions•Designing a user interface for intermediaries who will help people with Autism to use the software•User interface will be accessible on desktop, laptop & tablet computers (if there is enough demand, also on for hand-held devices)

Software development

process

Testing & evaluation•Testing technical functionality of software -Tests for accuracy and readability of simplified text-Comparing simplified documents generated by the software with manually written simplified documents

Software development

process

Testing & evaluation•Testing with end users: People with Autism-300 participants (both adults & children) with ‘high-functioning’ Autism -Adults - 100 in UK, Children (aged 12 & above) - 100 in Spain, 100 in Bulgaria-Must have IQ of 70 or above-Tests to confirm participants’ diagnosis of high functioning Autism -Reading comprehension tests with documents on various topics (under exam conditions)-Participants read documents in original and simplified formats -Participants answer multiple choice tests about their understanding of the documents-Testing results will inform future development / versions of the software

Software development

process

Testing & evaluation•Surveys for end users: Intermediaries-18 participants (3 clinical centres x 6 participants)-Including carers, social workers & psychologists-Provided with training on how to use the software-Participants are asked to use the software to prepare 6 documents for people with Autism-Afterwards, participants complete a survey to assess the useability of the software for people with Autism-Survey results inform development of final software product

Software development

process

• Involvement in all stages of software development• Direct & indirect involvement (people with Autism, as

well as their teachers, parents, carers, and professionals)• Planning – Information & advice from Autism

organisations • Testing – 300 people with Autism directly involved in

testing the software• Evaluation – 18 intermediaries (carers, social workers,

psychologists & doctors) involved in evaluating the usefulness of the software for people with Autism

• Perceptions of inclusion will be evaluated via qualitative interviews and focus groups with a sample of the people with Autism who participated in testing the software

Involvement of people with autism

The final product

Beta version is expected to be available for public use and testing in 2014

Final version is scheduled for release late 2014

Product launch will be held in 2014

Availability

Training will be available for professionals in the field of Autism in 2014

Training

Check website for updates: http://www.first-asd.eu

Join our mailing list: news@first-asd.eu Contact us: contact@first-asd.eu

More information & updates

• University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

• Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom

• Universidad de Alicante, Spain• Autism-Europe a.i.s.b.l., Europe• Universidad de Jaen, Spain• Parallel World Sdruzhenie, Bulgaria• Deletrea SL, Spain• iWeb Technologies Ltd, United Kingdom• Kodar OOD, Bulgaria

Project partners

Research Group in Computational Linguistics•Specialises in language technology•Role:-Project coordinator-Leader in processing structural complexity of languages

- Substantially involved in all aspects of software development

- Contributor to sustainability/commercialisation of the software

-Contributor to all other aspects of project

University of Wolverhampton,

United Kingdom

• Major provider of health & social services for people with mental health issues (including Autism) in the UK

• One of the leading research organisations for clinical evaluations

• Role:- Leader in testing & evaluation- Substantially involved in design of system architecture &

user interface - Contributor to dissemination of information about the

software - Contributor to other aspects of project

Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust, United

Kingdom

Natural Language Processing & Information Systems Group•Specialises in language translation software development (in Spanish & English)•Role:-Leader in processing ambiguity in meaning of words

- Substantially involved in all aspects of software development for Spanish & English

-Contributor to other aspects of project

Universidad de Alicante, Spain

• Advocacy organisation representing the rights of people with Autism across Europe

• Role:- Leader in dissemination of information about the

software- Contributor to other aspects of project

Autism-Europe, Belgium

SINAI (Sistemas Inteligentes de Acceso a la Información) - Intelligent System for Information Access Group•Specialises in language technologies development (in Spanish & English)•Role:-Leader in generation of personalised documents

- Substantially involved in all aspects of software development for Spanish & English

-Contributor to other aspects of the project

Universidad de Jaén, Spain

• Education and socialisation services for children and young people with Autism and other intellectual disabilities

• Specialise in communication and learning difficulties• Role:- Substantial involvement in dissemination of

information about the software - Contributor to testing & evaluation- Contributor to system architecture & user interface - Contributor to other aspects of project

Parallel World Sdruzhenie, Bulgaria

• Multidisciplinary team of professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of Autism and other speech/language disorders

• Role:- Leader in identifying user requirements- Contributor to testing & evaluation- Contributor to design of system architecture & user

interface - Contributor to other aspects of project

Deletrea SL, Spain

• IT solutions company that works with clients to improve competitiveness and operational efficiency

• Specialises in solutions for healthcare providers to improve patient quality of life and care pathways

• Role:- Leader in designing system architecture &

user interface- Contributor to testing & evaluation- Contributor to other aspects of project

iWeb Technologies Ltd, United Kingdom

• Major Bulgarian software company• Specialises in software systems for management &

finance for the public & private sectors • Role:

- Leader in sustainability/commercialisation of the software

- Substantially involved in testing & evaluation- Contributor to all aspects of software

development for Bulgarian language- Contributor to other aspects of project

Kodar OOD, Bulgaria

The research leading to this software product has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework

Programme (FP7, 2007-2013), under grant agreement n° 287607.

Acknowledgements