Reality-Based Technologies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Recommendation for Food Intake Intervention

Bilikis Banire, Kamran Khowaja, Bilal Mansoor, Marwa Qaraqe, Dena Al Thani*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Food selectivity by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is relatively high as compared to typical children and consequently puts them at risk of nutritional inadequacies. Thus, there is a need to educate children with ASD on food types and their benefits in a simple and interesting manner that will encourage food acceptance and enable a move toward healthy living. The use of technological intervention has proven to be an effective tool for educating children with ASD in maintaining attention and mastering new skills as compared to traditional methods. Some of the popularly used technologies are computer-based intervention and robotics which do not support ecological validity (i.e., mimicking natural scenario). Consideration of natural factors is essential for better learning outcomes and generalized skills which can easily be incorporated into reality-based technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. These technologies provide evidence-based support for ecological validation of intervention and sustaining the attention of children with ASD. The main objective of this study is to review existing reality-based technology intervention for children with ASD and investigate the following: (1) commonly used reality-based technology, (2) types of intervention targeted with reality-based technology, and (3) what subjects’ inclusion types are used in the reality-based interventions. These objective statements have guided our recommendation of reality-based technology that can support ecological validity of food intake intervention.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Neurobiology
PublisherSpringer
Pages679-693
Number of pages15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Publication series

NameAdvances in Neurobiology
Volume24
ISSN (Print)2190-5215
ISSN (Electronic)2190-5223

Keywords

  • ASD
  • Attention
  • Augmented reality
  • Autism
  • Ecological validity
  • Food intake
  • Food intervention
  • Mixed reality
  • Virtual reality

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