Enhancing the Perceptive and Cognitive Visual Processes in Low-Functioning Autism: Sigueme (FOLLOW-ME)

Background:  

Individuals with low-functioning autism often are not prepared to manage the abstraction level that the language requires cannot use programs oriented to it. Besides, in the most severe cases they cannot manage graphical representations and do not understand that what is represented in image corresponds to a specific meaning.

Objectives:  

Sigueme´s goal is to design and develop an educative software tool to allow the teaching and learning of skills to enhance the development of two processes in people with low-functioning autism: the visual-perception and the cognitive-visual processes. The software developed is made up of six incremental phases, which range from basal stimulation to the classification of pictograms, photographs and text, making use also of videos, gestures and words.

Methods:  

The phases are:

Attention. This phase presents a series of animation sequences divided in four groups. Its objective is to improve the user's attention to various visual and auditory stimuli. Video. To train visual attention through moving images in realistic 3D video sequences. This phase is divided into scenes, environments and areas containing different everyday concepts. Image. To increase the abstraction of the previous phase presenting the same concepts using animated 2D photographs with simple movements. Drawing. To work an equivalence between concepts presented as a photo, as a picture and as a grey scale silhouette. Pictograms. To help in the recognition of pictograms and the generalization of concepts from previous phases. Its goal is to enhance mental and linguistic representation. Games. Different exercises are suggested to classify simple objects taking into account colour, functionality, similarity, etc.

Depending on the skills of the user, some phases can be performed in three interactive modes: just see, touch or hit. The second one requires that the user touches the screen to continue the

exercise, and the third that the user touches the correct image that they are asked to.

Results:  

Daily observation SIGUEME tool use and PECS system implementation show that:

a)      Thirteen students have used “Image Phase” of SIGUEME to train the “cause-effect” relationships. They have achieved visual attention to basal stimuli and videos, increasing visual and auditory attention and facilitating access to levels 1 and 2 of PECS.

b)     Ten students who have done activities of “Image, drawing, pictograms Phases” of SIGUEME with the objective to train equivalence between a concept shown as a photograph, picture or grey-scale silhouette have achieved level 3 of PECS.

c)      “Games Phase” of SIGUEME focuses on the recognition of concepts and training of cognitive processes by categorizing and sorting. Nineteen students who have worked this phase have accessed to levels 4 and 5 of PECS.

d)     All students have shown great motivation because content personalization of SIGUEME tool.

Conclusions:  

SIGUEME is a useful tool as reinforcement in the implementation of communication systems such as PECS. In addition, the personalization obtained with the editor tool allows creating a version of SIGUEME per user, with adapted content to his/her interests and immediately environment. There are so many versions of SIGUEME as customization made of the same.