Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents
Presenter(s)
Ken T. Murata
Email: murata@cite.ehime-u.ac.jp
Center for Information Technology, Ehime University
Satoshi Fujiyoshi
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University
Joanne M. Cafiero
Department of Special Education, the Johns Hopkins University
Yasufumi Yoshimatsu
Faculty of Education, Ehime University
Masahiko Inoue
Center for Research on Human Development and Clinical Psychology
Hyogo University of Teacher Education
Eizen Kimura
Center for Information Technology, Ehime University
Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) often have a variety of social difficulties due to problem behaviors. However, it is important to note that many children would adapt themselves socially if they are supported adequately. Some of the problem behaviors of children with ASD are derived from lack of cognition of time; it is often difficult for them to understand how long they have to do something (e.g., to wait for their mother in a lady's room) or how long they have to engage in a preferred activity (e.g., to stop playing TV game). It is also difficult for them to motivate themselves to do something they do not feel like doing (e.g., to get dressed in the morning).
To help them in these situations, many 'time-aid' tools have been developed. They are either commercial devices or substitutions (e.g., a kitchen timer). However, most of them are expensive or cumbersome. Some of them are difficult to be customized for each child. It is said that visual information, such as picture symbols or words, are helpful for children with ASD. A kitchen timer is, however, difficult to be used with picture cards.
Due to rapid progress in Information Technology (IT) such as the Internet architecture (e.g., XML, JSP and ASP) and object-oriented programming language (e.g., Java, Visual Basic.Net and C#), it is possible to make software which are both portable to and customizable for children with ASD. Using these new Information Technologies, we have been developing a new time-aid, which works as a timer with visual symbols. This application (software) is named "RAINMAN toolkit". It can be used on personal PCs, handheld PCs and mobile phones.
Figure 1 shows construction of the RAINMAN toolkit. The RAINMAN is, at this point, composed of Cards (Cards RAINMAN) and Timer (Timer RAINMAN). Scheduler (Scheduler RAINMAN) and Calendar (Calendar RAINMAN) will be implemented in the near future. The Cards RAINMAN is used as a substitution of picture cards printed on papers. Using the Cards RAINMAN, one can make a quicker and easier choice of symbols on mobile terminals than picture cards printed on papers. The Timer RAINMAN provides picture cards and timer function together on a same screen panel (Figure 2). One sets the time to go between 1 and 60 minutes. A Timer symbol (in circle, square, rectangular and so on) disappears as time goes on.
In the initial condition, the RAINMAN has 114 symbols provided by Omori [1]. However, one may want to use his/her own set of symbols in the RAINMAN. The RAINMAN provides the environment to make user's original symbol sets via Symbol Manager RAINMAN which works on PC (Figure 3). Users can include any graphic files on their PCs in the Symbol Manager RAINMAN as long as they are in format of GIF, JPEG and WMF. For example, PCS (Picture Communication Symbol) [2], one of the most popular symbols, is provided in WMF and GIF formats. Pictures taken by your digital camera might be in JPEG format. Such original figures are saved in the Symbol Manager RAINMAN as seen in the bottom frame in Figure 3. All of these figure files are resized into 160x160, 70x70 and 40x40 pixel sizes so that they are well displayed on mobile terminals.
Users then can compose their own symbol set. A symbol set has a tree structure (Figure 4); it consists of Group and Items within the group. The Group is a folder containing one or more Items inside. An Item represents an activity for children with ASD. For example, a Group is home and Items are get dressed, breakfast and brush teeth. One graphic file is used as a symbol either for Group or for Item. Each symbol can be labeled using 14 characters. The setting of symbol and label is flexible. One can use same symbol both for a Group and for an Item in one symbol set. One can also use a same symbol for two Items in one Group with same label name or different label names.
Once one prepares his own symbol set, he/she synchronizes (replicates) it to his/her handheld PC, his/her PC or his/her mobile phone as shown Figure 5. (Now, the RAINMAN does not work on mobile phone in the United States at this point in time)
We have been working on a program to study the effective use of the RAINMAN toolkit for two years. So far there have been nine Japanese children with ASD who have used the Timer RAINMAN. Their ages are between 8 and 12 years old. Most of them had difficulty in stopping an activity or in starting to do something within a certain period. (For example, some of them could not control themselves to keep silent in a train for few minutes.) The aims to use the RAINMAN were different depending on each child.
Herein we discuss one case study of Child A. His age is 10, sex is male, and IQ is 52. His task in this study was to get dressed in the morning using the Timer RAINMAN on a handheld PC (HP iPAQ Pocket PC h2210). Before use of the Timer RAINMAN, he was not able to get dressed within several minutes even though his mother repeatedly says "hurry up, it's time". Even after he started to use the Timer RAINMAN, he did not show outstanding improvement. During this period, his mother simply put the Timer RAINMAN in front of him and said "you get dressed" before all of these time symbols disappeared. He was not able to maintain attention to the Timer RAINMAN for longer than a few seconds.
After one month his mother changed her strategy. She began to call the Timer RAINMAN "game of circle". She motivated him by encouraging him over and over, saying "Let's play with a game of circle", "Can you win this time?", "How many circles left now?" or "If you finish it you will get a cup of milk". She also pointed out the circles on the handheld PC with her finger many times to keep his concentration on the Timer RAINMAN. When he won, she strongly praised him. "You did it!" "You got it!" Even in case he failed, she set up the timer again and urged him to try again. After 2 months he was able to get dressed successfully within few minutes using the Timer RAINMAN. Now (almost two years later) he occasionally sets up the Timer RAINMAN by himself.
According to the results discussed above, we produced a video tape and DVD to introduce how to make full use of the Timer RAINMAN. In the video Child A receives verbal prompts from his mother to watch the time circles and finishes getting dressed before the time circles disappear.
We moved on to the next step; the other eight children began to use the Timer RAINMAN. Each caregiver was shown the video and told that the Timer RAINMAN is never used to control the child but to act as a communication bridge between the caregiver and the child with ASD. In each of other eight cases, the children seem to understand that this tool (the RAINMAN) tells me that I have to start or quit something within a time frame. In other words, it appears that they understood the concept of the passage of time with the RAINMAN.
The main objective of our present talk is to introduce the RAINMAN toolkit as an assistance tool for children with autistic spectrum disorders. We will include a description of the features of the RAINMAN toolkit, the protocols for customizing the RAINMAN for your student and a pre and post video demonstrating the Timer RAINMAN with a young child with ASD.
Acknowledgments:
The symbols in the RAINMAN are provided by Mr. Omori. The RAINMAN toolkit can be downloaded on our web site [2].
References:
[1] http://homepage3.nifty.com/sienkiki/
[2] http://www.mayer-johnson.com/
[3] https://dl.infonet.cs.ehime-u.ac.jp/download/welfare_index_e.aspx
Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents