Web accessibility for individuals with cognitive deficits

Tim Berners-Lee claimed in 2001 that “the power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”. A considerable amount of work has been done to make the web accessible to those with sensory or motor disability, with an increasing number of government and enterprise intranet webs being “accessible”, and also with some consortiums and groups seriously approaching this commitment. Some authors, such as Harrysson, have already highlighted the need for a cognitively accessible web. However, in spite of good intentions, there has been little work to date that has tackled this task. At least until now, the existing WAI and NI4 recommendations …

Teledu: Transmedia Learning Ecosystem for People at Risk of Exclusion

The TELEDU tele-education ecosystem, integrated by software and hardware components, allows the use of Web resources through Interactive Digital TV (iDTV) without the need to be continuously connected. It works with any existing digital TV standard and is especially useful for users who do not have broadband, being a very effective solution in places where there is a digital divide. The user must have, at least, a cell phone with 3G connection and any of these three options: Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT), Satellite TV or Cable TV. The conception of TELEDU is based on the premise that the software will offer a friendly interaction. Based on this, an interoperable, open and scalable environmen…

Predictive value of the Merrill-Palmer-R Scale applied during the first year of live

Resumen basado en el de la publicación Títulos, resumen y palabras clave en inglés y español El valor predictivo de una escala de desarrollo utilizado durante el primer año de vida es de gran interés en la planificación de las intervenciones tempranas. El valor predictivo de un instrumento es la probabilidad de acertar el diagnóstico de trastorno o retraso en el desarrollo de un niño. Se analizaron las puntuaciones de escala Merrill-Palmer-R (MP-R) en una muestra de 291 niños menores de un año de la Comunidad Valenciana. A pesar de que no se distribuyen normalmente las puntuaciones de la escala MP-R en esta muestra, los resultados predichos eran buenos. Además, las puntuaciones de desarroll…

Assistive Technologies and Autism Spectrum Disorders

This chapter discusses assistive technologies applied in people with autism spectrum disorders and how these technologies promote their adaptation. We analyzed different technological application areas such as detection, assessment, diagnosis, intervention, training, learning, environment control, communication, mobility, and access. In recent years there has been a notable increase of publications and works related to the use of assistive technologies applied to Autism Spectrum Disorders. While most of the publications present novel systems, devices, and applications (smartphones, tablets, robots, avatars, etc.), general evaluation of the results is insufficient. Future lines of research a…

The voice recognition system as a way of accessing the computer for people with physical standards as usual

Web accessibility for visual disabled: An expert evaluation of the Inclusite® solution

This study analyzes web accessibility problems for people with visual disability and presents the results of testing a prototype of Inclusite® system, an access solution designed to facilitate web navigation for people with visual disability, consisting of a navigation interface through keyboard and speech synthesis. An expert typhlotechnologist conducts a navigation test in three sessions evaluating the prototype positively and suggesting aspects for improvement. The interface provides web access as a service, the access solution is hosted in the website, so that the user can perform navigation using a different computer (not the own) which does not have his usual technical aids, helping t…

Prevalencia de los trastornos del espectro autista: revisión de datos

Published data on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders point to a significant increase in this indicator. This increase is being studied in numerous publications of analysis, meta-analysis and systematic reviews. The prevalence indicates the proportion of people who suffer at a given time or are diagnosed with a disease. The consequences of the increasing prevalence are relevant from the point of health, social and educational, but especially relevant when as is the case, the cause of the disorder is unknown. It is in this sense that the prevalence study gains importance in order to delimit various circumstances that may give clues to the possible cause or causes that generate disord…

A Systematic Review on the Impact of the Social Confinement on People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had imposed a variety of containment measures on the general population for prolonged periods. Confinement has had, and still has, social, economic, educational, health, and psychological consequences on the entire population. Objective: In this article, a systematic search has been performed based on studies carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, regarding the impact of these containment measures on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population and their caregivers. Method: We consulted six databases (i.e., PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) and selected ten studies that met the inclusion criteria. The chosen studies have be…

Development of symbolic play through the use of virtual reality tools in children with autistic spectrum disorders: two case studies.

Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being possible to show these imaginary transformations explicitly. This article reports two case studies of children with autism (aged 8:6 and 15:7, both male), examining the effectiveness of using a VR tool specifically designed to work on teaching understanding of pretend play. The results, confirmed by independent observers, showed a significant adv…

Assessing Virtual Reality as a Tool for Support Imagination

One of the major developments of the second year of human life is the emergence of the ability to pretend (Leslie, 1987). Many children with autism use no pretend play or are impoverished in the quality of their play (Baron-Cohen, 1989). The key factor of our Virtual Reality Software in relation to Pretend Play is the possibility to really show the object transformations we propose when pretending. We hope those technics to drive people with autism to a better understanding of pretense and to enable them to develop a play with more quality.

Web access for people with visual disability

This paper addresses the evaluation of a prototype of the Inclusite® solution, designed to enable web accessibility for visual disabled people. The interface provides the help from the Web and avoids users' dependence on software and devices normally used by them. An expert in typhlotechnology makes usability tests of Inclusite® interface, consisting of keyboard navigation combined with voice synthesis (synthesis of voice reads to the user the selections made from the keyboard). The evaluation of the initiative is very positive as it will contribute to reduction of costs by the users, not needing to purchase specific software, as well as reducing their dependence on the use of their own equ…

Evaluation of web browsing experience by people with cognitive disability

After a review of research in last 10 years we have seen the low output of work on the usability of the web, with respect to users with cognitive disabilities. This time we intend to explore the problems faced with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities when using the World Wide Web. We conducted a study to assess the Web site navigation experience using the Usability Lab of Access Research Unit, University of Valencia, where we recorded and analyzed the Web-user interaction using the technique of Thought Manifesto and Interview, from a qualitative methodological approach, to thereby detect the problems they have when surfing the Web sites for people with cognitive deficits.

Diagnostic validity of the Merrill Palmer-R Development Scale used in the evaluation of access to Child Development Centers and Early Care

The Merrill Palmer-R Development Scale is commonly used in Child Development and Early Care Centers. It is usually used, like other scales, in the initial evaluation process at the time of discharge in the center and / or throughout the entire intervention. The results obtained in the application of the scale are presented in the University Center of Diagnostic and Early Care of the University of Valencia, in the period between 2011 and 2016. In total, 223 cases of children under 42 months have been analyzed. Most of them, or without diagnosis or with a provisional diagnosis at the time of discharge. The objective of this article is to determine the diagnostic value of the Merrill Palmer-R …

Diagnostic Tools for Autism Spectrum Disorders by Gender: Analysis of Current Status and Future Lines

Studies on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders have shown gender disproportion. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in this investigation area. There are two main research lines; the first is focused mostly on gender-related biological reasons that could account for low ASD prevalence in women (i.e., related to some protective factors related to hormones or the immune system, among others), and the second research line studies possible diagnostic biases. In the present study, a review of the latter line of research is made based on two main objectives: (a) analysis of possible biases in diagnostic tools and (b) other nonbiological ASD prevalence explained by gende…

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Self Compassion (SC) Training for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Trial in Community Services in Spain

This study aims to develop a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and self-compassion (SC) program on self-reported values of anxiety, depression, and stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in primary school, in order to assess their integration into the framework of community intervention programs in Spain. Methods: A brief 8-week training program using mindfulness-based intervention (MBSR) and self-compassion (SC) has been applied to twelve Valencian ASD parents, ten of whom completed the program. Participants were assigned to two groups

Usability remote evaluation: METBA system

Usability as well as accessibility is a key aspect in development of human-computer interaction. This paper presents the basis of usability evaluation methodology and reviews the methodology used in empirical studies of usability evaluation for disabled people. Finally, we present a solution (METBA) as a system for managing the information related to evaluation of human behavioral observation contents that is used for the registration and management of the information derived from remote usability evaluation which complements the methodology commonly used in this research area.

Analysis of research on web usability for people with cognitive disability from 2002 to 2011

We present a review of research over the last decade on web usability for people with cognitive disabilities. Our aim is to know current status on the issue of usability in relation to people with cognitive disabilities to consider the issues they present and future solutions. We proceeded to perform a review in specialized databases of different scientific disciplines. We describe the results and we discuss empirical studies which evaluated usability of websites for people with cognitive disabilities. Conclusions and future lines are presented.