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Cited by 32Assistive Technology in Communication and MobilityAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchLanguage Development and Disorders

Development and evaluation of a speech-generating AAC mobile app for minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder in mainland China

Open access
An, Sainan, Feng, Xiaoping, Dai, Yue, Bo, Hongli, Wang, Xiuqing, Li, Mu, Woo, John Zhuohao, Liang, Xingmei +3 more·2017·Molecular Autism
DOI 10.1186/s13229-017-0165-5PMC PMC5627471
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mobile touchscreen devices are currently being used as speech-generating devices (SGDs) and have been shown to promote the communication skills, particularly the requesting skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who have limited spoken language. However, no augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) mobile app has been developed and evaluated in the Chinese language in Mainland China. METHODS: We developed an AAC mobile app, which is the first in Mainland China, to our knowledge, named Yuudee (Chinese name (xiaoyudi)). Yuudee was developed using the Objective-C and Java programming languages. A five-phase training protocol for making requests using Yuudee was developed based on the Picture Exchange Communication System. We trained ten minimally verbal children with ASD to make requests using Yuudee and evaluated the effectiveness of the training. RESULTS: Yuudee has a built-in library of over 400 pictures with corresponding spoken phrases that are divided into 39 categories ranging from making simple requests to expressing emotions. An additional important feature of Yuudee is its customization functions that allow a parent or trainer to easily select pictures and phrases to display, create new pictures and phrases, and change the layouts and orders of the pictures to fit the personal needs of each child. Yuudee is freely available in an iOS version from the iTunes App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/cn/app/xiao-yu-di/id794832934?mt=8) and in an Android version from Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supersuperstar.yuudee.vue) and domestic Chinese Android App stores. Three consecutive unprompted successful responses, which were defined as an initial training success, were achieved in at least three of the five phases for all ten of the evaluated children. The accuracy rate of a given phase was calculated for each child who achieved three consecutive unprompted successful responses in the phase. Seven children achieved at least 50% accuracy in at least two of the five phases. The other three children achieved at least 50% accuracy in only one phase. Two children achieved at least 50% accuracy in all of the phases in which they were trained. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that Yuudee is a useful tool for helping minimally verbal children with ASD make requests.

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  • Several studies indicate beneficial effects of mental health applications for autism spectrum disorder, with the majority targeting a range of outcomes such as social and communication skills in children.

    “Several studies indicate beneficial effects of MHAs for ASD, with the majority targeting a range of outcomes such as social and communication skills in children (48, 50, 51).”

    From ProVIA-Kids - outcomes of an uncontrolled study on smartphone-based behaviour analysis for challenging behaviour in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities or autism spectrum disorder (2024) · cites this paper as [50]

    The Background reports studies in which mobile AAC apps improved requesting and social-communication responses in children with ASD. The Results report progress in requesting with this app, but the Discussion says the study lacked a control group and could not establish whether an observed improvement in social withdrawal resulted from the app. This paper does not establish that a majority of mental health applications target a range of outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Authors
An, S., Feng, X., Dai, Y., Bo, H., Wang, X., Li, M., Woo, J. Z., Liang, X., Guo, C., Liu, C. X., & Wei, L.
Affiliations
  • Beijing Normal University (CN)
  • Tsinghua University (CN)
  • Peking University (CN)
Corresponding author
Wei, Liping
ORCID
Venue
Molecular Autism
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-10-03
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
52-52
ISSN
2040-2392 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13229-017-0165-5
PMC
PMC5627471
OpenAlex
W2764228489
Cited by
32
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
2.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Molecular Autism (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (No. Z131100006813046)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Keywords
augmentative and alternative communication, speech-generating devices, mobile application, autism spectrum disorder, minimally verbal children, Picture Exchange Communication System, Chinese language, Android, training protocols
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, China, Communication Devices for People with Disabilities, Female, Humans, Male, Speech, Verbal Behavior, Mobile Applications, Patient Outcome Assessment

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