title: Introduction to Technologies in the Daily Lives of Individuals with Autism.
abstract: In this introduction to the Special Issue on Technology we explore the continued evolution of technologies designed to help individuals with autism. Through review articles, empirical reports, and perspectives, we examine how far the field has come and how much further we still can go. Notably, even as we highlight the continuing need for larger empirical studies of autism-focused technology, we note how improvements in the portability, sophistication, ubiquity, and reach of daily technologies are providing new opportunities for research, education, enhancement, knowledge, and inspiration. We conclude by discussing how the next generation of technologies may leverage the increasing promise of big-data approaches to move us towards a future where technology is more personal, more relevant, and pervasively transformative.
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University, 40 Temple St Suite 7D, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA. frederick.shic@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shic
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, 312E Robinson Hall, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. m.goodwin@neu.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goodwin
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans
keywords: Apps; Computers; Games; Mobile; Robots; Technology; Ubiquitous computing