6th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare

Research Article

Towards in-home Collection of Behavior Specimens: Within the Cultural Context of autism in Pakistan

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/icst.pervasivehealth.2012.248701,
        author={Nazneen Nazneen and Fatima Boujarwah and Agata Rozga and Ron Oberleitner and Suhas Pharkute and Gregory Abowd and Rosa Arriaga},
        title={Towards in-home Collection of Behavior Specimens: Within the Cultural Context of autism in Pakistan},
        proceedings={6th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare},
        publisher={IEEE},
        proceedings_a={PERVASIVEHEALTH},
        year={2012},
        month={7},
        keywords={autism; problem behaviors; in-home behavior capture; culture},
        doi={10.4108/icst.pervasivehealth.2012.248701}
    }
    
  • Nazneen Nazneen
    Fatima Boujarwah
    Agata Rozga
    Ron Oberleitner
    Suhas Pharkute
    Gregory Abowd
    Rosa Arriaga
    Year: 2012
    Towards in-home Collection of Behavior Specimens: Within the Cultural Context of autism in Pakistan
    PERVASIVEHEALTH
    ICST
    DOI: 10.4108/icst.pervasivehealth.2012.248701
Nazneen Nazneen1,*, Fatima Boujarwah1, Agata Rozga2, Ron Oberleitner3, Suhas Pharkute4, Gregory Abowd5, Rosa Arriaga6
  • 1: Phd Student
  • 2: Research Scientist at Georgia Tech
  • 3: CEO of Behavior Imaging Solutions
  • 4: Systems Architect Behavior Imaging Solutions
  • 5: Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech
  • 6: Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Tech and Director of Pediatric Research at Health Systems Institute
*Contact email: nazneen@gatech.edu

Abstract

Children with autism often engage in problem behaviors. The frequency and severity of these behaviors can be very detrimental to their quality of life. Direct observation of problem behaviors is the gold standard for assessment and intervention, but it can be costly and intrusive. It also introduces specific challenges, such as lack of occurrence of episodes of problem behavior during clinical observation, and behavior reactivity in the presence of an observer. We propose a smart phone based capture system that can support parents in collecting samples of their child’s problem behaviors in the home for assessment and intervention purposes. Four concept exploration and concept validation studies were conducted with parents, behavior analysts and other caregivers of children with autism in Pakistan. A prototype informed by the concept exploration studies was developed and used as a probe in the concept validation studies conducted in laboratory and real world settings. In this paper we present our findings and their impact on the ecological integration within the cultural context of a developing but conservative society.