JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often face difficulties in social situations and risk lagging behind in terms of social skills. Many interventions on improving social skills lack proof of effectiveness, and children with ASD do not recognize the difficult social situations they encounter as a result of their lack of social skills, their main goal is to be accepted by peers.

Objective:

This study aims to design a comic as a transformational boundary object, which facilitates and enacts a horizontal interaction structure between children with ASD and their peers.

Methods:

This research project and this study are structured around the Design Research Framework to develop the comic through an iterative-incremental process. Three test sessions (n=12; n=6; n=47) were initiated where the focus shifted in time from usability in the first two tests to the first evaluation of early indicators of success in the third session. A stakeholder review (n=6) took place after the second test session.

Results:

A digital comic creator, It’s me, was produced within this study. Children can create their own personal comic through filling in a digital questionnaire. Based on concepts of peer-support, psycho-education, and horizontal interaction, It’s me has a rigorous base of underlying concepts that have been translated into design. In the first test sessions, the comic has shown that it’s able to initiate personal conversations between peers and teachers are convinced that It’s me can be of added value in their classroom.

Conclusions:

It’s me aims to initiate deeper conversations between peers, which should lead to more mutual understanding and a better relationship between children with ASD and their peers. The first test sessions show seems to be able to enact horizontal interaction and greater understanding among peers. It's me functions as a boundary object and is able to link the goals of different stakeholders. This social design approach might serve as an alternative to the usual roll-out method of implementation in the health sector.