Towards a User Model for the Design of Adaptive Interfaces for Autistic Users

Consideration of Human Factors is an important part of the design and specification process for the development of any software system, since the way the user interacts with the system directly affects the usability and overall performance of the application. When designing software for special needs users, the consideration of Human Factors is of vital importance. Such is the case with persons with Autism. Persons with some form of autism spectrum disorder face a myriad of impairments in different aspects of life, such as communication and social interactions, making each case unique, requiring different types of therapy. Designing special software for them can have its own challenges since each autistic person has distinct characteristics depending on the level of severity of autism. Using adaptive interfaces can be beneficial in this case by adapting the interface to the user's unique characteristics. But first we must establish what characteristics we can measure and what are the effects of these characteristics have on the interaction. By modelling the user, we can determine the impact of the user's characteristics on the interaction and design of the user interface and software. In this article, we present a doctoral thesis proposal of the development of an autistic user model to be used for adaptive interfaces and as a guide for interface design.