Pervasive Displays in Classrooms of Children with Severe Autism

The deployment of pervasive displays in classrooms of children with severe autism is challenging. In this article, the authors explore the use of pervasive displays in special-education classrooms to help children with autism better reflect on their behaviors. They designed and developed three pervasive displays, each one varying its visualization in relation to targeted behaviors and the reinforcement mechanism used. BxColor mimics traditional practices by varying the color of "tags." BxPuzzle reinforces positive behavior by varying the clarity of puzzle pieces. BxBalloons penalizes negative behavior by deflating virtual aircrafts piloted by children. Each display was deployed in one classroom of children with severe autism for three weeks. The results indicate that BxColor was too abstract to be understood by participants. In contrast, both BxPuzzle and BxBalloons were instrumental in increasing behavior awareness, triggering social interactions, and promoting teamwork. This article is part of a special issue on pervasive displays.