Personalized interactive urban maps for autism: an innovative approach involving persons with Level 1 autism spectrum disorder to user-centered design

Purpose Because of social interaction difficulties, cognitive characteristics and sensory sensitivity, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may struggle with independence and active participation in urban contexts. Through understanding how people with ASDs experience and perceive urban spaces, the Personalized Interactive Urban Maps for Autism (PIUMA) project’s purpose is to create a useful platform to support persons with ASD in their movements in the city, helping them in managing their daily lives, promoting their autonomy and active participation in urban contexts, taking in to account their direct point of view. This paper aim to present a user-centered approach involving autistic people. Design/methodology/approach The authors involved researchers with different backgrounds applying mixed research techniques such as semi-structured qualitative interviews, participatory design, exploiting user-adapted systems techniques, human–computer interaction techniques and interviews. The authors involved people with autism (PWA) from the beginning of the project to gain user requirements, as well as to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of our solution in the final stage. In specific phases of the project, the authors involved a group of parents of PWA and a group of neurotypical individuals as a control group. Findings The authors collected various data and created an App taking into account PWA needs, suggestions and points of view. Research limitations/implications Choosing different methodologies to allow participants to express their point of view, their needs and suggestions, the authors limited the quantitative data collected. The male-to-female ratio in the study, along with the sample size and participants’ age, can also be considered limitations. Practical implications The authors collected information about how autistic people move in urban contexts, represent the space of their cities, move independently and use technological devices. The data the author collected also provides suggestions about how to improve computer systems designed for them. Social implications The results suggest how to improve computer systems designed for autistic people and how to encourage their full participation in community life according to their cognitive and sensory characteristics. Originality/value The PIUMA project takes into account the direct input of PWA in all the different stages from conception and design to deployment of the device in a human-centered design approach.