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Wearable activity schedules to promote independence in young children
Author(s) -
JimenezGomez Corina,
Haggerty Katherine,
Topçuoǧlu Başak
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.756
Subject(s) - psychology , autism spectrum disorder , autism , schedule , developmental psychology , wearable computer , computer science , embedded system , operating system
Activity schedules consist of a series of visual discriminative stimuli, arranged in booklets or binders, which function as prompts for appropriate behavior. Although activity schedules are useful, their typical presentation in binders can be cumbersome and stigmatizing, placing additional barriers for independence and inclusion. The purpose of the present studies was to evaluate the usefulness of a wearable activity schedule and determine whether prompts provided by it would be sufficient to support completion of a complex chain of behaviors by young children. In Experiment 1, the Octopus watch® provided prompts to children of typical development to complete a morning routine independently. In Experiment 2, the usefulness of the watch was evaluated in children with autism spectrum disorder engaged in play activities in a clinical setting. In both experiments, children reliably displayed a greater proportion of independent engagement in target behaviors when prompts were delivered by the watch compared to control conditions.