first-asd.eu

1. www.openbooktool.net www.first-asd.eu

2. Contents • Introduction • About Autism • Audience / market • How the program willwork • Software developmentprocess • Involvementof people with Autism • The final product • Technicalspecifications • Availability • Training • More information & updates • Project partners • Acknowledgements

3. Introducing a new software program • Atool for simplifying documents and text • Primarily for people withAutismwho have difficultywithunderstandingregulartext • Convertswritten information into a simplerformat eg. English > simplified English eg. Spanish> simplifiedSpanish • Usingcomputerisedlanguagetechnology, itremoves the need for a humaneditor, improvingindependence and social inclusion of people withAutism • Developed by 9 organisations under a European Commission FP7 Programme funded 3-year cooperativeresearchproject • First version willbeavailable in late 2014 (in English, Spanish & Bulgarian)

4. About Autism • Autism is a disability • A ‘spectrum’ of disorders, with common characteristics: • Impairments in communication • Impairments in social interaction • Impairments in understanding information • The level of impairment ranges from mild to severe • Impairments and symptoms vary between individuals, but all have difficulties in the 3 areas above • Current research estimates that around 1 in 100-150 people fit the diagnostic criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder* * Barthélémy et al, 2008, Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Identification, Understanding & Intervention

5. About Autism (…continued) • Intellectual abilities vary between individuals, from superior intelligence in some areas to profound intellectual disability • However, many individuals with Autism are within the normal range of intelligence • Asperger’s Syndrome is a type of Autism (these people usually have normal or high level intellectual abilities) • Language skills also vary between individuals (some people who have Autism do not speak at all) • Yet, all people with Autism experience some difficulties in: • Comprehending speech and writing • Interpreting figurative/non-literal language • Understanding complex instructions • Deriving the meaning or gist of written documents • More information about Autism: www.autismeurope.org

6. Audience / market • Primarilyfor: • People with Autism (approx 3.3 million acrossEurope) • Alsouseful for: • People who have learningdifficulties • People with otherlanguage-relateddisorders, such as Aphasia(result of stroke or headinjury, ranges fromdifficulty remembering words to being unable to speak, read or write) • People who are learning a foreignlanguage • People with lowlevel of literacy • Elderly people with Dementia • Teachers, parents and carers of these people

7. How the program will work • It converts electronic documents into a simplified form that is easier for people with Autism to read • Document types that can be converted include: web pages, e-books, .pdf documents • Simplified documents are output in xml format • Simplified documents are personalised to users’ reading abilities and preferences

8. How the program will work • The simplification process includes: • Replacement of: • long complex sentences > several short, simple sentences • informal expressions > regular language • Provision of definitions for words and expressions that are: • long / technical • ambiguous • non-literal (eg. metaphors) • related to emotions • Addition of: • images • concise summaries of long documents • document navigation tools for long documents

9. How the program will work

10. Software development process Testing & evaluation Designing system architecture & user interface Processing structural complexity of languages Processingambiguity in meaning of words Generatingpersonalised documents Identifying user requirements

11. Software development process Identifying user requirements - General • Researchduringearly phase of software development to define the needs of people withAutism (in relation to accessingtext documents) more clearlythananypreviousstudies • Focus group discussions withsample group of people withAutism • Results to determine general user requirements & to formulate questions for the software’s ‘user preference survey’

12. Software development process Identifying user requirements - Individual • The software is programmed to identify each individual user’s reading abilities • The software prompts each new user to respond to a series of questions in a ‘user preference survey’ • The answers given enable the software to determineusers’ readingabilities and complexitythresholds • The software then simplifies documents according to the level of complexitythat the user canunderstand (Eg. at a certain level of complexity, the software will be triggered to remove words or sentences that will be difficult for the user to understand)

13. Software development process Processing structural complexity of languages • Identifying: • Long complex words • Long complex sentences • Replacing these elements with: • Shorter, more commonly used words (using Lexical Processor) • Two or more sentences, and or bullet points (using Syntactic Processor)

14. Software development process Processing ambiguity in meaning of words • Identifying: • Wordswith multiple meanings • Words / phrases that are rare, specialised/technical or have non-literalmeanings(eg. metaphors, idioms, etc) • Providing: • A definition of the word • A set of images or pictograms to enhance understanding of the concept • Semantic class (eg. for ambiguous words, a category/context for the word as it is used in the specific text)

15. Software development process Generatingpersonalised documents • Beforesimplifyingeach document, the software prompts users to answer a series of ‘pre-reading questions’ that will help them to understand the document • For example, if the document to be simplified is about cooking, the pre-reading questions might ask the user to identify items found in a kitchen • Based on previousresearch*, thiscanassistusers to put the information they are about to readinto perspective * O'Connor & Klein, 2004, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34 (2).

16. Software development process Generatingpersonalised documents • Personalised documents include: • Interactive table of contents • Heading • Convertedsummarisedtext(withsub-headings) • Images • Simple layout design thataidsunderstanding

17. Software development process Designing system architecture & user interface • Combining the parts to create a functioning software system • Designing a user interface for people withAutismthatcontains minimal visual distractions • Designing a user interface for intermediarieswhowill help people withAutism to use the software • User interface willbe accessible on desktop, laptop & tablet computers (if thereisenoughdemand, also on for hand-helddevices)

18. Software development process Testing & evaluation • Testingtechnicalfunctionality of software • Tests for accuracyand readability of simplifiedtext • Comparingsimplified documents generated by the software withmanuallywrittensimplified documents

19. Software development process Testing & evaluation • Testingwith end users: People withAutism • 300 participants (both adults & children) with ‘high-functioning’ Autism • Adults - 100 in UK,Children (aged 12 & above) - 100 in Spain, 100 in Bulgaria • Must have IQ of 70 or above • Tests to confirm participants’ diagnosis of high functioningAutism • Reading comprehension tests with documents on varioustopics(under exam conditions) • Participants read documents in original and simplified formats • Participants answer multiple choice tests about theirunderstanding of the documents • Testingresultswillinform future development / versions of the software

20. Software development process Testing & evaluation • Surveys for end users: Intermediaries • 18 participants (3 clinical centres x 6 participants) • Includingcarers, social workers & psychologists • Providedwith training on how to use the software • Participants are asked to use the software to prepare 6 documents for people withAutism • Afterwards, participants complete a survey to assess the useability of the software for people withAutism • Survey resultsinformdevelopment of final software product

21. Involvement of people with autism • Involvementin all stages of software development • Direct & indirect involvement (people withAutism, as well as theirteachers, parents, carers, and professionals) • Planning – Information & advicefromAutism organisations • Testing – 300 people withAutismdirectlyinvolved in testing the software • Evaluation – 18 intermediaries (carers, social workers, psychologists& doctors) involved in evaluating the usefulnessof the software for people withAutism • Perceptions of inclusion willbeevaluated via qualitative interviews and focus groups with a sample of the people withAutismwhoparticipated in testing the software

22. The final product

23. Availability • Beta version is expected to be available for public use and testing in 2014 • Final version is scheduled for release late 2014 • Product launch will be held in 2014

24. Training • Training will be available for professionals in the field of Autism in 2014

25. More information & updates • Check website for updates: http://www.first-asd.eu • Joinour mailing list: news@first-asd.eu • Contact us: contact@first-asd.eu

26. Project partners • University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom • Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom • Universidad de Alicante, Spain • Autism-Europe a.i.s.b.l., Europe • Universidad de Jaen, Spain • Parallel World Sdruzhenie, Bulgaria • Deletrea SL, Spain • iWeb Technologies Ltd, United Kingdom • Kodar OOD, Bulgaria

27. University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom Research Group in ComputationalLinguistics • Specialises in languagetechnology • Role: • Project coordinator • Leader in processing structural complexityof languages • Substantially involved in all aspects of software development • Contributor to sustainability/commercialisation of the software • Contributor to all other aspects of project

28. Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom • Major provider of health & social services for people with mental health issues (includingAutism) in the UK • One of the leadingresearch organisations for clinicalevaluations • Role: • Leader in testing & evaluation • Substantiallyinvolved in design of system architecture & user interface • Contributorto dissemination of information about the software • Contributorto otheraspects of project

29. Universidad de Alicante, Spain Natural LanguageProcessing & Information Systems Group • Specialisesin languagetranslation software development (in Spanish & English) • Role: • Leader in processingambiguity in meaning of words • Substantially involved in all aspects of software development for Spanish & English • Contributorto other aspects of project

30. Autism-Europe, Belgium • Advocacy organisation representing the rights of people withAutismacross Europe • Role: • Leader in dissemination of information about the software • Contributorto other aspects of project

31. Universidad de Jaén, Spain SINAI (SistemasInteligentes de Acceso a la Información) - Intelligent System for Information Access Group • Specialises in languagetechnologies development (in Spanish & English) • Role: • Leader in generation of personalised documents • Substantially involved in all aspects of software development for Spanish & English • Contributorto other aspects of the project

32. Parallel World Sdruzhenie, Bulgaria • Education and socialisation services for children and young people with Autism and other intellectual disabilities • Specialise in communication and learning difficulties • Role: • Substantialinvolvement in disseminationof information about the software • Contributorto testing& evaluation • Contributor to system architecture & user interface • Contributorto other aspects of project

33. Deletrea SL, Spain • Multidisciplinary team of professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of Autism and other speech/language disorders • Role: • Leader in identifying user requirements • Contributor to testing & evaluation • Contributor to design of system architecture & user interface • Contributorto other aspects of project

34. iWeb Technologies Ltd, United Kingdom • IT solutions company that works with clients to improve competitiveness and operational efficiency • Specialises in solutions for healthcare providers to improve patient quality of life and care pathways • Role: • Leader in designing system architecture & user interface • Contributor to testing & evaluation • Contributorto other aspects of project

35. Kodar OOD, Bulgaria • Major Bulgarian software company • Specialises in software systems for management & finance for the public & privatesectors • Role: • Leader in sustainability/commercialisation of the software • Substantially involved in testing & evaluation • Contributor to all aspects of software development for Bulgarian language • Contributorto other aspects of project

36. Acknowledgements The research leading to this software product has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2013), under grant agreement n° 287607.