Recommendations about app development

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Hello,

My name is Serge, and i'm writing on behalf of my team at some big IT company.
Our team (3 Software Developers, 1 Business Analyst ) is working on the app that can help kids of any autism spectrum.

We really hope that our app will be free!

We would highly appreciate if you may find some time to consult with us about:
1. the techniques you use to increase kids attention;
2. the techniques that may help develop kids social skills.

It would be really great if you could answer the next questions:

What part of spectrum is your kid at? What apps / techniques do you use, if any, to help?
What you love about the app? What you don't like? What would you add to it?

Thank you for your time, let's make it happen together!

Sorry guys. The moment you uttered the words "social skills" I know a few things:
(1) You guys have no clue about autism.
(2) You guys look down on autistic children, you think they are sick and need treatment.
(3) You guys will fail.

So, go ahead, follow the path of so many other app developers that have failed miserably. Have a nice day.

What technologies are you using?

Well, kids pay attention best when they are engaged by the subject matter, and when their need for movement and exploration is being met. I don't know how an app would help with that, but all power to you if you figure out a way to do so.

I have experience as a special educator. My kids were all over the place, age wise. I don't have any of my own. I post here because I like giving advice. And it's kind of slow with actual parents, so it seems like I'm doing a good deed.

I'm rather concerned about the use of these vibrator watches that are supposed to remind a kid to pay attention. That's going to be another sensory issue for a lot of our kids. I can't say I'm very excited about the idea. I'm sure somewhere, someone benefited from it. But it seems more like adversive therapy to me. "Do as you are told or we'll create discomfort on your body." That is, however, an uninformed opinion. I've never tried to use one.

I've fantasized about an app that is an accessible coach of sorts for social skills stuff. If the kid is having a problem, and going to a human for help seems too much, they can go to the app instead. The app would then have an algorithm for helping them problem solve the situation. And could maybe even be programed to help remind the child of calming techniques that they like. So, if one kid loves counting to ten, you could program the app to help them do that. But if (like me as a kid) they hate counting to ten and even suggesting that is likely to lead to a blow-up, you could tell the app to never suggest that.

Cross posting is specified in the Wrong Planet rules as unacceptable.
Your duplicate thread has been removed.

I came across this article today which seems relevant to this discussion:
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2017 ... -tech.html
(Scroll down the articles there to this one:
The Trouble With "Social Coaching" Tech for Autism
M. Kelter)

We are not limited with technologies. We can use anything that will make sense.
For now we are at market research stage. We really want to hear from parents' community about their needs that technology can fulfill.

It seems odd that you say you work for "some big IT company." Is there some reason why this market research has to be done in secrecy and you can't reveal the name of your employer?

Usually when researchers come here looking for information, they are quire forthcoming about the programs they are affiliated with. Then again, they are academics and have to work under codes of ethics and peer review and so on. What ethical constraints govern your market research and approach?

Our team is driven by idea that having knowledge (received from parents and specialists who work with kids) and the power and resources of big IT company it's possible to make a product that brings value.
We are general IT company, not specializing in anything particular. Though we have some success in medical sphere.

I think you missed Adamentium's point entirely. It looks odd that you don't name your company by name and it looks suspicious.

Making anonymous queries on forums is not typically how legit "big IT" companies do their marketing research.

^Potentially a junior employee working on a project that isn't exactly favored, or isn't approved yet. That was my first impression. But you have a point. That's not how "big IT companies" generally work, as far as I know.

Alas, everyone on this board tends to jump on people who come in with any kind of commercial interest. I understand why. Autism now is big money. And that kind of turns my stomach that people keep trying to profit off us. On the other hand, I would like more products, if they are good ones. Imagine what would have been if the developers of communication devises had come here first. We would have jumped all over them, and they turned out to be a really good thing.

Well, I think how the thing is presented makes a difference too. If there is transparency and evidence of initial effort I think that tends to go down a little better.

For example, if someone posted. Hi, I am thinking of making an app for autistic people and here are my initial thoughts on what it would do. (Thoughts listed) Is this something you would be interested in and if so can you think of any additional features you would want or features I named that would not be useful.

I think that comes off better than saying: Hi, I work for a big IT company whose name I don't want to divulge, and I have two general areas I want to pursue: social skills and attention. I am not presenting any initial ideas at all and so it appears I would like you to do my brainstorming for me.

That said, I really don't think we jumped on him. It is pretty normal to do a due diligence when we get these kinds of posts, for just the reasons you outlined.

And honestly, it benefits him to be more transparent anyway because if he is not going to present some initial thoughts on what he specifically has in mind, he is not apt to get good responses. For example, I cannot at the top of my head think of how an app could be useful for those two things because an apt is going to draw attention away a social encounter or anything else you are trying to focus on. Also, you can't just pause in the middle of a social interaction to look at a screen for the Friendship Algorithm. If he posts what he has in mind it might be something that would make sense with or without tweaks and we could tell him so. An open-ended fishing expedition is not going to get as precise a response.

Thank you for linking to this site. I really like the perspective on autism there.

As far as the particular article goes, I think the tech is pretty cool. I, honestly, would not mind having a watch that could tell me how to interpret what NTs say and do--kind of like a translating device (assuming the AI was fine-tuned enough to do it.) The problem would be doing is in a subtle way, where it was not obvious what you were doing. Recording what people do would obviously have legal implications depending on where you live.

That said, I think the key to it, if you could figure out a way to seamlessly integrate it, is that it needs to be voluntary. This way you are in charge of the tool and it does not feel like the tool is in charge of you. I would be afraid it would be misused by people trying to make people act NT when they don't want to.