Abstract:

Creative and innovative developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have paved the way for assistive technologies in special education in addition to other fields in education. Assistive technologies have been begun to be used as effective, efficient, and attractive teaching tools because learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties to develop cognitive abilities and acquire new knowledge. They need to improve their behavior, communication and relationships with their environment through special education. New digital devices appear as promising teaching/learning tools as hardware. However, hardware take on a new significance as long as it is used with well-designed software; in our scope, software is interactive e-books and interactive content based teaching applications. Within this perspective, the purpose of this study is to identify design criteria of interactive e-books and interactive content based teaching applications for learners with autism spectrum disorder through a three rounds Delphi study. In this study, a total of 47 criteria under 5 themes were identified and research findings were further discussed within scope of emerged five themes. Additionally, directions for future research were presented.

Keywords:

Assistive technology, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), individuals with special needs, interaction design, interactive tools.