Design Projects to Quantify the Health and Development of Autistic Children

Much remains to be learned about the roles that technology can play to (a) “quantify” the health status and development of an autistic child and (b) most effectively aid their classroom learning and their development in terms of activities of daily living. This work-in-progress paper provides an overview of senior design experiences in the Kansas State University (KSU) College of Engineering geared toward severely disabled children served by Heartspring in Wichita, KS. These projects engage about 30 engineering students/faculty and are supported with materials funding through the National Science Foundation’s General and Age-Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program. Projects are grouped into two thematic areas: (1) efforts that support the realization of a bed sensor suite for automated tracking of nighttime parameters that indicate child well being and (2) stand-alone design projects that address various facets of paraeducator (“para”) and child well being and development. Students are encouraged to incorporate design mechanisms that allow device data to be uploaded to the Heartspring database that already contains these children’s clinical records, individualized education plans (IEPs), and daily progress and behaviors as recorded on the iPod Touch 4 platforms carried by the paras that work one-on-one with these children throughout the day. Participation rates by students in broad curricula (i.e., biomedical and otherwise) imply that students in any area of engineering appreciate the opportunity to engage in a project with clear personal and societal benefit.