Dr Marc Fabri

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017. User participatory design is considered to be one of the best methods for understanding the needs of a target audience and creating high quality, well designed solutions to meet their needs. For many design students, the principles of participatory design in the creation of new user experiences are part of their curriculum. However, the involvement of disabled persons into the user experience design (UXD) process can be difficult in an educational setting. Often persons with autism and cognitive disabilities are excluded from user experience data collection due to their lack of sufficient cognitive ability and language skills to participate in these research methods in meaningful ways. Further, educators may shy away from involving this group due to institutional regulations and ethical concerns. This paper presents a case study introducing design students to inclusive UXD strategies and observing autistic children, using an approach called the “Connectivity Model”. The model avoids the requirement for complex ethical clearance by facilitating observations via recorded videos. We present outcomes and evaluate the model against the most pertinent needs of these children.

Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) are distributed virtual reality systems with multi-user access. Each inhabitant is repre-sented by a humanoid embodiment, an avatar, making them virtually present in the artificial world. This paper investigates how inhabitants of these CVEs can communicate with each other through channels other than speech, and it is primarily concerned with the visualization and perception of facial expressions and body postures in CVEs. We outline our experimental work and discuss ways of expressing the emotional state of CVE inhabitants through their avatars.

This guide is for teaching staff at Higher Education Institutions. We share with you practical tips based on evidence from our research to enable you to make your learning and teaching practices more accessible and support you to build better relationships with autistic students. We have developed this guide with the help of autistic students, their parents, university tutors, school teachers, and autism support staff. It summarises findings from the European-funded Autism&Uni project and highlights best practice, particularly in the project partner countries United Kingdom, Finland, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

This paper reports on a study aimed at creating an online support toolkit for young autistic people to navigate the transition from school to university, thereby empowering this group in developing their full potential. It is part of the Autism&Uni project, a European-funded initiative to widen access to Higher Education for students on the autism spectrum. Our particular focus is on the Human-Computer Interaction elements of the toolkit, namely the visual design of the interface, the nature of interactions and navigation, and the information architecture. Past research in this area tended to focus on autistic children, often with learning difficulties, and their preferences in terms of interface and interaction design. Our research revealed that the preferences of young autistic adults who are academically competent and articulate, differ considerably from those of autistic children. Key findings are that text is preferred over visual material; visual design should be minimal; content ought to be organized in a logical and hierarchical manner; the tone of language ought to be genuine yet not too negative or patronizing; and images or video are only useful if they illustrate places or people, in other words information that cannot easily be conveyed in other ways.

Although an unprecedented number of autistic students are entering higher education, research focusing on their sense of belonging is scarce. Autistic students’ sense of belonging can be jeopardized due to the students’ encounters with a network of social expectations, activities, responses and biased attitudes. Using a participatory approach, our objective was to examine autistic university students’ perceptions about their sense of belonging whilst at university. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 12 autistic university students and graduates from the Netherlands. Data were analysed using theory-guided content analysis and elaborative coding approaches. Findings indicate that autistic students’ sense of belonging is multi-dimensional, fluid, and located within affective, spatial, temporal, social and political contexts. Our findings offer a novel and theoretically robust framework to conceptualise and further understand the sense of belonging. Important practical implications are also given.

Animated interactive characters and robots that are able to function in human social environments are being developed by a large number of research groups worldwide. Emotional expression, as a key element of human social interaction and communication, is often added in an attempt to make them appear more natural to us. How can such artefacts be given emotional displays that are believable and acceptable to humans? This is the central question of Animating Expressive Characters for Social Interaction. The ability to express and recognize emotions is a fundamental aspect of social interaction. Not only is it a central research question, it has been explored in animated films, dance, and other expressive arts for a much longer period. This book is unique in presenting a multi-disciplinary approach to animation in its broadest sense: from internal mechanisms to external displays, not only from a graphical perspective, but more generally examining how to give characters an “anima”, so that they appear as life-like entities and social partners to humans. (Series B)

Purpose of this paper: The paper reflects on engaging young autistic people in the participatory design of the Autism&Uni online toolkit. The purpose of the toolkit is to provide autistic students with information and strategies for dealing with the challenges they may encounter when entering higher education. The study adds to existing research on participatory design by considering the specific needs and contributions of autistic people who are of average or higher intelligence, academically competent and generally articulate, a group that has received limited attention hitherto. Design/methodology/approach: The research used a 5-step Design Thinking approach and engaged multiple stakeholders at different points. The paper covers the whole process, paying particular attention to the final two steps of prototyping and testing. During three participatory design workshops, autistic people acted as co-designers and co-creators. Findings: The workshops were effective in engaging participants in various design activities and rich discussions. Several assumptions about capabilities and preferences of autistic people were challenged. Design Thinking proved a suitable framework for involving this group in the creation of solutions that serve their needs. Research limitations/implications: Because of the low number of workshop participants (11), research results may lack generalisability. Also, the workshop format with its focus on group activities may discourage some autistic people to take part. Further work is needed to explore this and to confirm the reported findings. Practical implications: The paper offers practical advice regarding how to involve autistic people in co-design activities. Social implications: The research contributes to a strength-based view of autism, rather than one that focuses on deficits. Originality/value: The paper provides new perspectives on the strengths of autistic people in participatory design settings, with a focus on those autistic people who are of average or higher intelligence and able to communicate effectively.

Adaptive web-based applications have proven successful in reducing navigation and comprehension problems in hypermedia documents. In this paper, we describe a toolkit that is offered as an adaptive Web-based application to help autistic students incorporate to high education. The toolkit has been developed using a popular CMS in which we have integrated a client-side adaptation library. The toolkit described here was tried out during workshops with autistic students at Leeds Becketts University to gather (mostly qualitative) feedback on the adaptation and privacy aspects of the Autism&Uni platform. That feedback was later used to improve the toolkit.

An unprecedented number of autistic people are completing university and they frequently face unemployment after graduation. However, research focusing on the forms of graduate capital and their employability is scarce. The focus of existing research has been on non-autistic, or neurotypical, graduates. The human, social, cultural, identity and psychological capitals might be different for autistic graduates due to the characteristics of autism. Using a participatory approach, our aim was to examine the five areas of graduate capital in the context of autistic graduates. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 15 autistic university graduates from Finland, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Data were analysed using theory guided content analysis and ‘data-driven’ approaches. Findings indicate that the five areas of graduate capital are particularly relevant to autistic graduates, who typically expose gaps in several capitals, jeopardising their employability.

Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and to the world around them. It is also a spectrum condition, which means that it affects different people in different ways. It is estimated that around 1 in 100 people are autistic (Brugha et al. 2012). A substantial proportion of autistic people is of average or advanced intellectual abilities and academically competent (often referred to as higher-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome), although some have an additional learning disability (Fombonne et al. 2011). Whilst autism in itself is not an indicator of academic ability, many young people find it difficult to enter and succeed in Higher Education. Having said that, the number of university students diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition is consistently rising.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal barriers and their coherences between discrimination and self-perceived employability which students and employees on the autism spectrum often face and need to overcome. These include discrimination based on disability, when applying for a job or retaining employment. This research located barriers in three different categories: formality – problems that focus on organizational structures in the application process; social – communication and interaction problems; and job demand barriers – obstacles that epitomize work-related strains. Design/methodology/approach Barriers and discrimination can prevent individuals from accessing the labor market which can lead to severe consequences for an individual on the autism spectrum, such as poverty, social deprivation or lack of health promotion and equal treatment. Self-perceived employability can be regarded as an additional strength, as it describes the perception of an individual’s own skills and versatility to acquire and keep a job. In total, 53 German-speaking individuals on the autism spectrum participated in an online survey. Findings Results showed statistically significant coherences between both, formality and social barriers with discrimination. Formality barriers also indicated statistically significant coherences with self-perceived employability. A mediation model with discrimination as mediator between each category of barriers and self-perceived employability was examined. The non-significant results suggest that discrimination does not work as a superior construct but as a sole influence next to barriers and self-perceived employability. Originality/value Individuals on the autism spectrum epitomize a less common research approach. Moreover, diversity policies and practices in the workplace often do not focus on including individuals on the autism spectrum even though the employment rates for this specific group of potential highly qualified employees were reported to be consistently lower when compared to any other group of disabled people. Findings suggest possible starting points for future research, which are discussed alongside practical strategies to overcome barriers and change discriminatory attitudes toward skilled individuals on the autism spectrum.

There is a growing population of young people with autism entering higher education and successfully completing qualifications, however, their postgraduate outcomes are often some of the poorest. This study responds to the gap in research regarding the transition out of higher education and into the labour market for this group. It outlines a two-phase qualitative research design to examine barriers and pathways to competitive employment for graduates with autism. Findings report the heterogenous experience of autism, the importance of natural supports such as family, universities, or supported employment for success, and the impact of attitudes regarding autism and inclusive practice expressed by employers and wider society. The study further analyses how people, practices and policies often interact contingently to open up or close down opportunities for graduates with autism within the ecosystem of competitive employment.

Adaptivity has proven successful in reducing navigation and comprehension problems in hypermedia documents. Authoring of adaptive hypermedia documents and especially of the adaptivity in these documents has been problematic or at least labour intensive throughout AH history. This paper shows how the integration of a CMS with an adaptive framework greatly simplifies the inclusion of personalization in existing educational applications. It does this within the context of European project Autism&Uni that uses adaptive hypermedia to offer information for students transitioning from high school to university, especially to cater for students on the autism spectrum as well as for non-autistic students. The use of our Within Browser adaptation framework (WiBAF) reduces privacy concerns because the user model is stored on the end-user's machine, and eliminates performance issues that currently prevent the adoption of adaptivity in MOOC platforms by having the adaptation performed on the end-user's machine as well (within the browser). Authoring of adaptive applications within the educational domain with the system proposed was tried out with first year students from the Design-Based Learning Hypermedia course at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) to gather feedback on the problems they faced with the platform.

Purpose This research aims to examine effective support strategies for facilitating employment of autistic students and graduates by answering the following research question: What constitutes effective employment support for autistic students and graduates? Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories (MEBS) as part of a multinational European project’s Web-based survey. The data consisted of 55 writings about effective strategies and 55 writings about strategies to avoid when working with autistic students and graduates. The material was analysed using qualitative inductive content analysis. Narratives were created to illustrate desirable and undesirable environments and processes as they would be experienced by students, supported by original excerpts from the stories. Findings Analysis revealed that effective employment support for autistic students and graduates comprised three dimensions of support activity: Practices based on the form and environment of support, social interaction support, and autism acceptance and awareness. These dimensions were present in both recommended and not recommended support strategy writings. Originality/value The results add to the literature on autism and employment with its focus on the novel context of autistic university students and graduates. Effective strategies will be based on personcentred planning, to include not only the individual impact of autism, but individual career goals, workplace characteristics in the chosen field, employer needs, and allocation of the right support. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but rather an individualised process is needed, focused on identification of strengths, adaptation of employment and work processes, and improved understanding and acceptance of autism by management, colleagues and administration in the workplace.

Despite the steps taken to improve support in universities, many students and graduates with autism face a substantial employment gap when completing university as compared to any other student group with disabilities. The literature shows that often students with autism do not have appropriate support to prepare them for entering the workforce. Therefore, it is imperative that this under-researched topic be studied. Utilising a participatory approach, in this article, we sought to investigate perceptions of students and graduates with autism about the employment support they received when preparing for university-to-work transition. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 30 university students and graduates with autism from Finland, France, the Netherlands, and the UK. Data were analysed using an inductive content analysis approach. Findings indicate that organizational enablers consisting of career focused support and internships and practicums facilitated preparation for employment. Supportive and caring relationships emerged as forms of support that included mentors, committed and caring academics, and family members. Further, the findings indicated the aspiration for individualisation that consists of improving work and academic support, and awareness and understanding. These findings have also important practical implications.

Campus life can be particularly challenging for those with autism, but there are simple steps academics can take to reduce anxiety and confusion. In his article, Marc Fabri presents seven practical tips for academics to help autistic students succeed at university.

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and to the world around them. It is estimated that around 1 in 68 people are autistic (Christensen et al., 2016 Christensen, D. L., Baio, J., Van Naarden Braun, K., Bilder, D., Charles, J., Constantino, J. N., … Yeargin-Allsopp, M. (2016). Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years.

This guide is for managers and senior academics at universities and higher education institutions, providing you with information and evidence to help you develop policies and practices that will benefit autistic students and improve the student experience at your institution. We have developed this guide with the help of autistic students, their parents, university tutors, school teachers, and autism support staff. It summarises findings from the European-funded Autism&Uni project and highlights best practice, particularly in the project partner countries United Kingdom, Finland, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

This guide is for specialists directly supporting autistic students. This may be as part of a disability support team within a Higher Education Institution, or for an independent organisation that provides services to Higher Education. We share insights from our research and from good practice across Europe that will help you improve student experiences and engagement with your information and services, and to develop your expertise. We have developed this guide with the help of autistic students, their parents, university tutors, school teachers, and autism support staff. It summarises findings from the European-funded Autism&Uni project and highlights best practice, particularly in the project partner countries United Kingdom, Finland, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

This paper reports on the insights gained from introducing design thinking into the final year of a UK university course where students created positive behavior change interventions. The rationale for the course design and teaching process are outlined, with a focus on design as engineering versus innovation process. The students took a design thinking journey using Stanford University d.school's 5-step approach of Empathize-Define-Ideate-Prototype-Test, and their journey is described in detail. We found that at first students found the Design Thinking approach counter-intuitive and confusing, yet throughout the process they recognized the strengths and opportunities it offers. On the whole, students reflected positively on their learning and on their re-evaluation of the role of a (service) designer. Lessons learned from a teaching point of view are also outlined, the most poignant being the realization that it was necessary to 'un-teach' design practices students had come to take for granted, in particular the view of design as a self-inspired, linear and carefully managed process.

This paper is a result of a working group at the 3rd Workshop on Emotion in HCI. The aim of this working group was to sketch an affective system for the support of depressed people living mainly on their own. In this paper we present some results of this wok, focusing on how acquired emotion information could be processed and provided to the stakeholders, and how the system could respond to sensed changes in the emotional state of a patient.

As computing is changing and becoming increasingly social in nature, the role of emotions in computing has become ever more relevant and commercial. Emotions are central to culture, creativity, and interaction. The topic attracts more and more researchers from a range of multidisciplinary fields including design, gaming, sensor technologies, psychology and sociology. The need for discussion, exchange of ideas, and interdisciplinary collaboration is ever-increasing as the community grows. This workshop will meet requirements of individuals working in the field, giving them a podium to explore different aspects of emotion in HCI, raise questions and network with like-minded people on common subjects. The workshop will focus around working group sessions, and will use predominantly small group work, rather than being presentation-based.

The use of avatars with emotionally expressive faces is potentially highly beneficial to communication in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), especially when used in a distance learning context. However, little is known about how, or indeed whether, emotions can effectively be transmitted through the medium of a CVE. Given this, an avatar head model with limited but human-like expressive abilities was built, designed to enrich CVE communication. Based on the facial action coding system (FACS), the head was designed to express, in a readily recognisable manner, the six universal emotions. An experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of the model. Results indicate that the approach of applying the FACS model to virtual face representations is not guaranteed to work for all expressions of a particular emotion category. However, given appropriate use of the model, emotions can effectively be visualised with a limited number of facial features. A set of exemplar facial expressions is presented.

We argue that the use of collaborative virtual environments (CVE) which incorporate emotionally expressive avatars has the potential to engender empathy amongst users of such environments, and that the use of this technology is potentially valuable for people with autism. Empirical work in both areas is discussed. Results suggest that the introduction of emotional expressiveness enriches the subjective experience of CVE inhabitants, in particular their enjoyment and how engaging they find virtual encounters. Similarly, exploratory empirical work involving people with autism suggests they were able to understand the emotions expressed by their avatars and use them appropriately.

This paper presents part of our wider research project concerning the design, development and evaluation of computer systems for children with autism. Research currently being carried out concerns how children with autism recognise human facial expressions of emotion and how the use of computer-based animated characters might help them in this recognition. The context for the research is a primary school unit of children with severe autism and moderate to severe learning difficulties. We present results of a preliminary study designed to establish a baseline for the abilities of each child, and describe the methodology considerations that arose during and after the study. The merit of participant observers is discussed, and links to action research are pointed out. © 2007 Salima Elzouki, Marc Fabri, David Moore.

We present our work on emotionally expressive avatars, animated virtual characters that can express emotions via facial expressions. Because these avatars are highly distinctive and easily recognizable, they may be used in a range of applications. In the first part of the paper we present their use in computer mediated communication where two or more people meet in virtual space, each represented by an avatar. Study results suggest that social interaction behavior from the real-world is readily transferred to the virtual world. Empathy is identified as a key component for creating a more enjoyable experience and greater harmony between users. In the second part of the paper we discuss the use of avatars as an assistive, educational and therapeutic technology for people with autism. Based on the results of a preliminary study, we provide pointers regarding how people with autism may overcome some of the limitations that characterize their condition. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.

Autistic students face significant challenges in higher education, particularly regarding navigation, sensory overload, and accessing appropriate support. This study explores the role of an Assistive Online Toolkit in addressing these barriers and promoting autonomy, well-being, and social adaptation. Through qualitative analysis of student experiences, findings reveal that navigation difficulties and sensory overload contribute to heightened stress and disorientation. The Toolkit’s mapping and location features provided practical solutions, enhancing students’ confidence and independence in navigating campus. Additionally, a lack of awareness about available support services created further obstacles, which the Toolkit helped mitigate by offering clear guidance on reasonable adjustments and self-advocacy strategies. The transition to university also brought challenges in academic adaptation and social integration, with many students experiencing isolation and anxiety. The Toolkit’s resources helped normalize help-seeking behaviors and fostered a sense of belonging. These findings highlight the importance of digital assistive technologies tailored to autistic students’ needs, reinforcing the necessity of framing autism within a disability paradigm to ensure access to legal protections, accommodations, and continued innovation in assistive solutions.

The aim of this study was to explore the comic design preferences of the autistic community and to better understand the reasons behind those choices. With this, the researcher hoped to gain a clearer view of how comics could be used to share information in an engaging, creative, and reader-centred way. These techniques were utilised to create an exemplar comic, through an Aut-ethnographic memoir of the researcher’s experiences of being an undiagnosed autistic woman. Yergeau (2013) described Aut-ethnography as an autie-ethnographic narrative in her paper regarding Theory of Mind. As an autistic researcher, she felt this term would be appropriate to describe research which has been studied from the inside out. A mixed-methods approach combining Aut-ethnography and Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) - combining surveys, an online art exhibit and interviews - allowed for a thorough collection of data and analysis. Surveys provided a view of the autistic community’s tastes in comic books and why they chose comics to engage with. As well as giving an in depth outline of specific likes and dislikes regarding design features, while interviews allowed a thorough understanding of those tastes and provided important conversations about educational diversity. Initial and focused coding was used to develop the final categories which suggested that (1) The Impact of the Comic Community, (2) Comic Accessibility, (3) Influence of Media, (4) Aesthetics that Induce Escapism, (5) Positive use of Comics in Pedagogy, and (6) Diverse Learning Options were key themes that reflected the importance of the ever-present theme of empathy. Not all participants had access to comic book shops, some feared what people thought about the genre of comics they enjoyed, and the aesthetics of comics allowed them to escape out of a difficult world. The central theme of empathy reflects the importance of having a diverse and accepting society. This also indicates that autistic people seek out empathetic content with a focus on the history of the characters, immersive world building and relatable story writing. This helps the individual connect with an immersive 4 world which is important for their physical and mental wellbeing. This research contributes to knowledge by suggesting that the empathetic connection between graphic texts and reader, with their combination of imagery and information, could improve neurodiverse people’s understanding and knowledge, grip their attention, and motivate people to have conversations between each other and institutions.

The application of persuasive technology in web-based and mobile phone-based systems is well established, particularly in the health domain. However, a greater understanding of the effectiveness of the techniques deployed is needed to facilitate the successful transfer of research findings into practical applications. The context explored here is that of creative writing and the potential use of persuasive technology to foster and support a productive writing routine. Employing a user-centered design approach, we conducted surveys and a co-creation workshop with writers. Goal setting and regular writing, combined with self-monitoring, were key indicators of an effective writing practice. Group and mentor support were also highlighted. Based on our findings, we developed the architecture for a mobile personal writing coach. We evaluated the architecture against existing frameworks, finding good congruence. This supports our long-term goal of creating a universal framework, applicable to a wider range of behavior change interventions, domains and users. The design considerations reported in this paper go some way towards that goal.

The application of persuasive technology has been shown to be effective in a weight management context. However, it has been observed that the impact is not as significant as predicted. The aim of this project was to investigate whether a Design Thinking approach could generate new insights that could be used to drive the development of an innovative application to help people on their weight management journey. Findings show that although no radically new user needs were identified, the needs that users did express most pertinently are not effectively met by currently available technology. Further, we examined the Design Thinking approach itself and sought to identify criteria for the design of successful insight gathering activities, through end-user engagement. We summarize these at the end of this paper.

Levels of overweight and obese individuals have been seen as rising across the globe. This has caused concerns with regard to how active individuals are and realization that a high percentage of the population do not meet the weekly requirement of physical activity. Current focus has been on the capabilities that new technologies can offer as an intervention technique. This paper offers an initial investigation into one such technology, namely the iPod Nike+ kit, which acts as a tracker for running behaviors. This scoping study was conducted via a questionnaire and analysis of customer reviews. Participants were assessed on their stage of change for physical activity behavior, based on the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), before and after using the technology. The results from this study showed that the technology was received positively from those who used it and the predominant outcome was that individuals were more enthusiastic about running.

This paper reports on the results of a study investigating how nutritional eating behaviors can be improved by presenting a cooking-based website for parents to use with their children. Participants' eating behaviors were closely monitored via questionnaires and food diaries. Results show that over the course of the study, children's willingness to consume fruit and vegetables had improved and they enjoyed participating in food preparation. This was supported by the participants' food diaries, which showed a statistically significant increase in the number of portions of fruit and vegetables consumed by both children and parents. An attempt was made to place participants in a stage of change before and after the study (Transtheoretical Model). This was flawed, however, due to inaccurate measurements and the short study duration. Overall, this study provides support for the use of educational websites, in particular a cooking website, to improve nutritional eating behaviors in children. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Purpose: Children undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) often experience anticipatory anxiety, which can lead to distress, rescheduled scans, or sedation. This study evaluated the acceptability and impact of Xploro, a digital interactive app designed to improve children’s understanding of MRI procedures and reduce anxiety. Design/methodology/approach: The GLOWING STARS study used a before-and-after design. Children aged 4–11 attending diagnostic MRI scans in secondary care paediatric NHS Trusts accessed Xploro one-to-one on the day of their appointment. Children and parents/caregivers completed paper proformas assessing perceived knowledge and emotional responses before and after using the app. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, and quantitative data summarised descriptively. Findings: The study indicated that Xploro was highly acceptable and effective in enhancing procedural understanding, improving preparation, and increasing emotional security before MRI scans, especially for children aged 7 to 11. This study is the first to involve children aged 4–6 years using the Xploro digital interactive intervention for MRI preparation, and the first to deliver Xploro on-site at the ANONYMISED hospital NHS Trust. This study provides valuable evidence guiding recommendations for the development of digital interventions for children under 7 years old (~3-6).

Immersion, referring to the level of physical or psychological submergence of a user within a virtual space relative to that user's consciousness of the real-world environment, has predominantly been established as an indispensable part of interactive media designs. This is most prevalent in Virtual Reality (VR) platforms, as their applications are typically reliant on user believability. With a wide variation of possible methodologies for the enhancement of this feature, the collectively recognised paradigm lies on the emphasis of naturalism in the design of the virtual system [7]. Though widely used by some specialised VR applications [4] such concepts are yet to be fully explored in the more contemporary virtual systems such as Social Immersive Virtual Environment (SIVE). The focus of the study described in this paper are the techniques being developed to enhance user immersion, virtual presence and co-presence in a SIVE application, through the design and integration of a VR-based Natural User Interface (NUI) that allows users to naturally and intuitively interact with the virtual environment and other networked users through the utilisation of full body gesture controls. These gestural controls prioritise the emulation of the alternate equivalent of such real-wold interactions, whilst also providing an interface for the seamless and unobtrusive translation of the user's real-world physical state into the virtual environment through intuitive user to virtual avatar proprioceptive coordination. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.

Increasing numbers of students on the autism spectrum enter higher education (HE), hoping to develop their skills and independence. However, many find it difficult to transition to and succeed in this environment, and the support provided by universities can be inconsistent as highlighted by a recent review. This study explores the personal experiences of 16 students with autism from four Western countries, focusing on successes and challenges. Using thematic analysis, four core themes were identified: choices and aspirations, being at university, support provisions, and specific recommendation. Anxiety, depression and mood difficulties were frequently reported. The importance of positive personal relationships, and the need for autism training and empathy amongst support professionals was highlighted. Further, there is a need for universities to provide joined up academic and social support and to implement reasonable adjustments in an inclusive way, thereby avoid stigmatizing the student. Whilst negative experiences dominated, there were notable examples of good support practice and high levels of personal resilience and determination amongst the participants. To inform future practice, we conclude by offering a set of recommendations for educators, support professionals and for students on the autism spectrum.

This paper presents a literature review investigating the suitability of participatory design when conducted with autistic adults. Six relevant papers were discovered, with key information extracted prior to analysis. A thematic analysis revealed six core themes of adaptations and considerations to be made when working with autistic adults: (1) appropriate approaches and methodology, (2) individual differences, (3) flexibility, (4) communication, (5) environment and sensory issues and (6) challenge assumptions. Overall, it was found that participatory design is a suitable method for use with autistic adults, providing careful adjustments are made to some or all of the design activities to ensure their accessibility and effectiveness. It is important that researchers and practitioners have sufficient autism understanding to make these adjustments, and that they invest time to get to know the autistic people involved in their study.

Purpose Many technology designers strive to involve end users in the design process, aiming to produce better outcomes. However, designers may struggle to engage autistic users effectively due to a lack of understanding of autistic characteristics and preferences. This systematic literature review aimed to identify how autistic adolescents and adults can best be engaged in effective participatory design activities. Methods Seven databases were searched for articles reporting technology design involving autistic people, returning 276 results. Using the PRISMA approach, 258 were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria. The remaining 18 articles were then quality assessed. Results A thematic analysis revealed five core themes: (1) Engagement: the importance of investment in, and ownership of, the design process to create engagement, (2) Relationships: building relationships through collaboration and careful facilitation, (3) Skills development: the development of personal skills such as teamwork, design and self-advocacy in order to grow confidence, (4) Structure: providing context and structure to make the design experience feel safe and predictable, and (5) Support: the importance of support and consideration of individual needs as well as discouraging negative behaviours. Conclusion Valuing participants as equal partners in design emerged as an, arguably, universal principle. The specific needs and preferences of autistic people must be understood and respected by designers. This goes beyond obvious accommodations such as providing a quiet and safe environment, and requires a deeper, more personal engagement with the individuals and their interests. We provide tangible recommendations for increasing engagement and aiding the design process.

This paper presents an analysis of the available systematic reviews of educational, behavioral, and social interventions for children on the autism spectrum. Forty-six out of 1299 full-text articles were assessed against eligibility criteria, with a further 16 articles excluded for different reasons. The quality of the remaining 30 reviews was variable, and a further five were excluded due to low methodological quality. In the remaining 25 systematic reviews, none of the intervention types was found superior to the others, and there is generally weak evidence for the effectiveness of the reviewed interventions in improving autism-related impairments. Applicability of this evidence on children with severe autism is generally questionable. While there have been repeated calls for more large-scale studies, specifically randomized controlled trials, we conclude that the environments in which interventions typically take place are not conducive to this. Instead, researchers are advised to adopt sensitive, evidence-based approaches that work well with small sample groups.