Investigating Child-informed Considerations for Animated Picture Symbols Representing Emotion for AAC use in Children with ASD

Development of emotional competence is an important area of consideration when supporting individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Emotional competence includes skills related to identifying and communicating about one’s emotions. Individuals who use AAC may struggle to develop strong skills in emotional competence. One potential barrier to developing emotional competence may be access to symbols that facilitate understanding of the represented emotion. Emotions are abstract and challenging to represent in visual symbols. Additionally, evidence suggests individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have visual perceptual differences when viewing faces. Current emotion symbols are often depicted using isolated facial expressions, which may not match how individuals with ASD depict symbols. Further, many children struggle to identify symbols of abstract vocabulary items. Researchers have begun seeking children’s input in the conceptualization phases of design processes, as they are one of the critical stakeholders in AAC devices. Application of animation technology is a rising area of research in AAC may be beneficial in symbol representation. This study investigates aspects of static and animated drawings through qualitative methods. Sixteen typically developing (TD) children and six children with ASD drew and animated pictures of six emotion concepts across two continuums: calm – getting angry – angry; not happy or sad/neutral– a little happy – very happy. Results indicated both TD and ASD children used context, colors, and symbolic features within their drawings. Their facial features were similar; however, the ASD children frequently used different mouth shapes compared to TD children in the emotions of angry and neutral (not happy or sad). ASD children often used characters as the subject of their drawings, while TD children often used people as their subjects. Children in both groups often used complex animation (e.g., functional or “real-life” animation), over simple animation (e.g., draws attention to stimulus) across emotion concepts. Children were asked to rate the helpfulness of animation in showing emotions, with average ratings indicating it was helpful – very helpful. Advisor: Kevin Pitt