What sort of computer tools might make autism easier?
Hi all,
This is my first post on wrongplanet.net but I hope to post more. It seems like a great community and resource.
I may have the opportunity to do some computer science research related to autism this year. I have been thinking about what sort of tools might be particularly helpful to people with ASD/Asperger's. My own expertise/time mightn't be sufficient to create some of these tools but the thread could be useful to others if not.
If you could have a tool that does not currently exist to help you (or a family member with autism), what would it help with? Something to manage social relations or anxiety or something else? How might it help?
It's another way of asking in what contexts do you have problems?
Here are a couple of possibilities:
A text analysis tool that would try to deduce sentiments/emotions from e.g., emails or other online exchanges. Would it be more helpful to get assistance writing or interpreting? What sort of assistance would be helpful? Simple highlighting of emotion words? Commentary (e.g., "It seems like John is making a joke" or "Your email seems angry but the message you are replying to seems friendly")?
A wearable tool that would monitor the expressions and/or voices of people near you for sentiments/emotions, or that would alert you when people are trying to talk to you.
Or?
I'd be really interested to hear anyone's ideas and what you think of each other's suggestions, if any.
Thanks
Hi RabidFox,
Thanks for your suggestion. Is that something that you would like to use in real time or would it be useful as something that you would refer to as a reference and/or maybe after a social interaction or watching a video that you are able to pause?
If it's a reference item. Some stuff exists already but I don't know if there is anything that meets your needs. A quick Google for 'visual dictionary of emotions' uncovered some basic examples (mostly cartoons), such as on pinterest . com/pin/292100725804640693/
I don't know if a dictionary exists showing a wide range of emotions or decoding different aspects of facial expression (such as eyebrows, eyes and mouth) or one of body language, that is both comprehensive and easy to quickly look up.
Something that you might use in real time would be a bit different and might use face recognition software.
Thanks again.
Is the objective to cure the person or avoid triggers?
noise cancellation
bio feedback
lie detector
user-friendly block chain
logical fallacies
movies without signup, spam, or cc#
virtual libraries, technical resources, and museums, without paywalls or comments from the peanut gallery
basic guaranteed income
online, vocational, training and job interview to telecommute
online grocer
Anything to help with my executive functions, which are poor:
- Project manager to help me manage budget and deadlines with my work projects. i've thought about getting OmniGraffle for my Mac but it is expensive
- Budget manager to help manage my home budget
- Grocery shopping app--i've seen plenty, but they are mostly hard to use and don't sync with my Mac
- Reminders for paying bills, taking meds, to-do things. I probably can do this with default apps but anything to make tasks easier
Anything to help with stress management:
- Guided meditation sessions with relaxing music, maybe a mandala graphic
- Biofeedback app?
- Relaxing nature sounds like ocean, wind in the trees, birds, maybe a visual like abstract shapes
Would love it if there were some sort of "Dear Abby" write-in, but for business people-- I'm often getting into trouble at work because I need to ask what to do in a situation, but i'm afraid of getting in trouble for asking (it's happened before). For example, what to do if a client starts asking for things not in the contract, what if the client becomes abusive, what to do if i'm going to miss a deadline, what to do if i need to ask for more budget.
_________________
Diagnosed Bipolar II in 2012, Autism spectrum disorder (moderate) & ADHD in 2015.
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Definitely not to cure. I don't like to call autism something that needs curing. It could help avoid triggers or just help with stuff that can be more difficult for people with autism.
Don't headsets exist for that already? It would be cool if there was something for TV/streaming video that would balance the volume or mute annoying characters (or politicians!)
Quite a few biofeedback devices exist already. What were you hoping to use it for?
user-friendly block chain
logical fallacies
movies without signup, spam, or cc#
virtual libraries, technical resources, and museums, without paywalls or comments from the peanut gallery
basic guaranteed income
online, vocational, training and job interview to telecommute
online grocer
Thanks very much for your other suggestions. Some exist in some form already. A lot of them would be very useful for companies/organisations/governments that may not consider the needs of all of their audiences/citizens.
Have you any others, especially if they are small in ambition, more useful for people who are ASD than NT, and solvable with software?
- Project manager to help me manage budget and deadlines with my work projects. i've thought about getting OmniGraffle for my Mac but it is expensive
- Budget manager to help manage my home budget
- Grocery shopping app--i've seen plenty, but they are mostly hard to use and don't sync with my Mac
- Reminders for paying bills, taking meds, to-do things. I probably can do this with default apps but anything to make tasks easier
Thanks very much for your suggestions. As you say, a lot of these tools exist already. If they are hard for you to use, it's probably because they are poorly designed for everybody, including NTs. Do you think that's the case or do you you think that they are especially difficult for you to use?
- Guided meditation sessions with relaxing music, maybe a mandala graphic
- Biofeedback app?
- Relaxing nature sounds like ocean, wind in the trees, birds, maybe a visual like abstract shapes
A biofeedback app is a definite possibility. It would have to be linked to some kind of hardware, possibly a headset. Would that be useful? What sort of app would you want? One that you could use privately or a more simple/subtle one that you could use while you were out an about or at work? Could a headset-based app be used at work? friedmacguffins was also interested in biofeedback.
You have my sympathies. A lot of those questions you have seem like ones that NTs would have too. It seems extraordinary that you couldn't ask one of your colleagues or boss for advice without getting into trouble. It might be worth your while asking why you got into trouble. It may be that the problem wasn't asking for help but when you asked or how you managed the client before you asked.
Have you discussed your difficulty with anyone at work? I suppose it would be hard (though maybe not impossible) to create a tool that would give advice because there is no one answer for each of the situations you specify. My own 2 cents would be if a client asks for things not in the contract and you are not sure, tell the client that you will get back them, which gives you a chance to ask for advice without (I hope) getting into trouble.
You need some standard approach or approaches for dealing with an abusive client that is appropriate to your job. Perhaps you could develop one with a sympathetic colleague, ideally a senior one. You could also Google "Dealing with difficult people" for some tips. It's best to keep your cool and be polite. Often people complain to whoever they're talking to from a company even if the problem was clearly caused by someone else. You can gently remind them of that for example by saying "I will let the product development team know about the problems you have experienced with our easyflush reclining toilet".
As for problems with budgets and deadlines, I can't see how anything is better than informing your boss as early as possible if your are certain you will not meet them. If you are not sure, you might want to wait a bit but you could still signal that there might be a problem: "I am finding this budget/deadline very tight. I hope I can meet it." You might get into trouble but that would probably be for going over budget or missing the deadline rather than for telling them about it. If the problem happens a lot, you might want to be somewhat open with your boss and explain that you are doing your best. Perhaps you could ask a colleague for advice on how to do this. You could even practice with a friend first. I hope that's helpful.
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Would you hope to use the visual dictionary during a conversation to better understand the person you are talking to?
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Would you hope to use the visual dictionary during a conversation to better understand the person you are talking to?
That would be really cool, but you would have to use face recognition software.
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Would you hope to use the visual dictionary during a conversation to better understand the person you are talking to?
That would be really cool, but you would have to use face recognition software.
Emotion recognition software is under development (eg by Microsoft) but even if you had an app you would need some extra hardware or else need to aim your phone at the person you were talking to. You would need to explain what you were doing to the person you were talking to unless you were wearing something like google glasses. If you had to do that and use a phone camera, would you use it?
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Would you hope to use the visual dictionary during a conversation to better understand the person you are talking to?
That would be really cool, but you would have to use face recognition software.
Emotion recognition software is under development (eg by Microsoft) but even if you had an app you would need some extra hardware or else need to aim your phone at the person you were talking to. You would need to explain what you were doing to the person you were talking to unless you were wearing something like google glasses. If you had to do that and use a phone camera, would you use it?
It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe.
I think that it should be easy to use, so that it works regardless of when.
Would you hope to use the visual dictionary during a conversation to better understand the person you are talking to?
That would be really cool, but you would have to use face recognition software.
Emotion recognition software is under development (eg by Microsoft) but even if you had an app you would need some extra hardware or else need to aim your phone at the person you were talking to. You would need to explain what you were doing to the person you were talking to unless you were wearing something like google glasses. If you had to do that and use a phone camera, would you use it?
It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe.
Doesn't it
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
Was it easier later? |
05 Mar 2024, 11:01 am |
Edible computer and electronics |
Today, 5:34 am |
How can i make new friends without failing (if possible) |
29 Feb 2024, 6:25 am |
People That Swear Make Better Friends & Are More Intelligent |
20 Mar 2024, 11:08 am |