Early observations on how children with and without autism take photographs: Preliminary implications for Augmentative and Alternative Communication design

PURPOSE: Visual scene displays are contextual images designed to represent messages in augmentative and alternative communication systems. Currently, little is known about how children naturally compose photographs and select content. This study takes an exploratory approach to establish a preliminary baseline of how children take photographs to inform child-centred visual scene display design. The study aimed to examine the compositional features and thematic content of child-generated photographs, begin evaluating whether children with autism may differ from neurotypical peers in photographic composition, and develop a preliminary descriptive codebook to support future population-sensitive, visual scene display research. METHOD: Sixteen neurotypical children and four children with autism took photographs of interest. Images were coded for composition (e.g. placement), inclusion of people, engagement, and thematic content. RESULT: Children predominantly used central composition, included whole objects, and favoured straight-on or top-down perspectives. Children with autism appeared to diverge in some areas. Common themes included play activities, people, household items, animals, food, and nature. CONCLUSION: Findings provide baseline insights into children's natural photographic strategies and content preferences and suggest that children with autism may differ from neurotypical peers. These patterns, alongside the development of a preliminary descriptive codebook, support the future potential for population-sensitive, child-centred visual scene display design.