DEVELOPMENT OF THE "I WANT" ANDROID-BASED ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION TO REDUCE TANTRUM BEHAVIOR IN NONVERBAL CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
Keywords:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), assistive technology, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), alternative communication, Android application, tantrum behaviorAbstract
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who experience verbal communication impairments often have difficulty expressing their needs, wants, and emotions to others. This communication barrier may lead to frustration, which is frequently manifested through tantrums, aggression, hitting, biting, or self-injurious behaviors such as throwing themselves onto the floor. This study aimed to develop an Android-based assistive technology application called "I WANT" as an alternative communication tool for nonverbal children with autism. The development subject was a 10-year-old student, identified by the initials MA, who was diagnosed with severe autism, had no functional verbal speech, frequently exhibited aggressive behaviors, and experienced significant difficulties in communicating daily needs. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach, including needs analysis, product design, application development, implementation, and preliminary evaluation. The application was developed based on the principles of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) by utilizing visual symbols that generate voice output when selected by the user. The results indicate that the application provides a functional communication platform that enables the student to express basic needs, including eating, drinking, bathing, playing, sleeping, studying, urinating, and defecating. In addition, the application includes alphabet and number learning features to support early academic stimulation. The use of AAC-based assistive technology has the potential to improve functional communication skills, reduce frustration caused by communication barriers, and decrease the frequency of tantrum behaviors among nonverbal children with autism. These findings support recent evidence indicating that technology-based AAC is an evidence-based practice for individuals with autism who have limited verbal communication abilities.
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