Vivi Mandasari

Bio: Vivi Mandasari is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Single-subject design & Social relation. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 7 citations.

Learning social skills with 2D animated social stories for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of neuro‐developmental disorders caused by brain abnormalities which results in impaired social skills. There are five variants of the spectrum: Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, Autistic Disorders, Rett’s Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorders. These broad variants produce a wide variety of symptoms among children with ASD, where each child with ASD will have his own pattern of autism; however, all children with ASD will share the same deficits in the areas of social skills which include social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and unusual behavior/interest. Research on treatment in helping children with ASD to improve social skills is growing as the cases of children diagnosed with ASD are on the rise. Social Story™ is one of the proven methods of treatment in helping children with ASD to learn social skills. However, the current presentation format of Social Story™ has not been attractive and it requires intensive teacher‐student interaction for the full benefit of social skills acquisition. Numerous studies have proved that children with ASD are motivated and have a better understanding from reading or visual illustration learning rather than learning through spoken instructions. Results from studies have also discovered that the computer is attractive and engaging for children with ASD, as it offers much benefit to them. It has been said that learning is most effectual when motivated, thus, the purpose of this study is to discover a learning tool that children with ASD will be motivated to use on their own, and it is achievable by combining elements that they are interested in. This research focuses on the combination of Social Story™, 2D animation, and the computer as a medium of presentation to present an interactive pedagogical tool for children with ASD to learn social skills. This combination is anticipated to be an effective tool in teaching social skills to children with ASD, as they are naturally drawn to computers and visual cues, combined with the fact that Social Story™ has been effective in changing the social behavior of children with ASD. The prototype titled ‘I-Learn Social Story’ has been developed and evaluated on thirty children with ASD in a special school located in Kuching, Sarawak. A preliminary study has been conducted on three children with ASD prior to this final evaluation to ensure that the final prototype functions are properly based on the children’s needs. The method used in the evaluation study is the quantitative method, specifically single subject design, which is one type of experimental design. Results of the experimental study reveal that the prototype is effective in changing the participants’ social behavior and in improving their social skills. There are significant improvements in the appropriate social behavior, decrease in the inappropriate social behavior, and increase in the number of social interactions made by the participants. Thus, this study has…

The Communicative Experiences of High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Digital Media Intervention Program

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Non-invasive monitoring of people with disabilities via motion detection

Abstract: This research developed a prototype to recognize the activities of people with social interaction and communication impairments using two commercial grade infrared motion sensing input devices. The model uses skeletal joints in the form of (x, y, z) coordinates to perform computationally inexpensive and efficient real time indoor monitoring. The prototype works well for a room with the size of 15 ft. by 15 ft. where it can detect two human subjects simultaneously. The prototype promotes non-invasive monitoring, no wearable sensor is required on the person under monitoring and no identifiable face images are stored. The evaluation shows that it is able to recognize the accident-critical activities, self-injurious activities and inactivity with satisfactory recognition and false alarm rates.

An Evaluation of Education-Based Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Without Intellectual Disability: a Systematic Review

Abstract: Many interventions designed to improve educational outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been published, yet there has not been an adequate review of interventions in school settings assessed against student outcomes. We reviewed empirical literature published 2000 to June 2019 that evaluated school-based interventions applied to students formally diagnosed, with an IQ > 70, and who were attending kindergarten/pre-school, primary, or secondary school. Interventions most commonly targeted skills in six areas: academic skills, on-task behaviour, play behaviour, social cognition, social interaction, and verbal skills. Results indicated significant improvement in each area. Generalization and maintenance were not consistently evaluated. Few studies included female participants and few reported on participant race; of those that did, the majority were Caucasian. Further research, utilizing larger samples and more stringent statistical approaches, is needed to identify the most efficient and effective interventions to improve educational outcomes for this population.

Differentiated Animated Social Stories to Enhance Social Skills Acquisition of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract: This study developed a web-based social skills intervention system accessible via a tablet/laptop computer which combines differentiated instructions, social stories, multimedia, and animations. This creates an interactive learning environment which (1) allows children to learn social skills repeatedly and pervasively; and (2) promotes teacher/caretaker-parent collaborations to boost the ASD children’s social skills acquisition as, a simple logon to the portal enables parents/ caretakers and teachers to view the media prepared by others; track and reinforce the skills a child has learnt at home/ in school, and add his/her social stories which others can view. The prototype evaluation and observation of voluntary participants from the special education school who were treated with differentiated animated social stories demonstrates that digital-based differentiated social story interventions have made the learning of social skills more interactive, appealing and effective compared to the traditional social skill tools.

Investigating the potential of depth sensor for monitoring people with disabilities

Abstract: This research proposed a model to recognize the common activities of people with special needs using soft computing and infrared depth sensor. We developed a rotatable single sensor which resolves the blind spots that are occluded by non-rotatable single depth sensor; it also saves on resources as one rotatable sensor can provide the view field of two sensors. The model provides computationally inexpensive and efficient algorithms to recognize the activities for real time indoor monitoring of people with disabilities. Besides, the model works in real time, non-intrusive and intuitive manner. There is no wearable device required on the person under monitoring and he or she does not have to coordinate any interface element. The prototype evaluation shows that the model is able to recognize the common activities and critical incidents effectively. It has the potential to be adapted and enhanced for monitoring people with disabilities.