Development and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Adaptation of the Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation Social Communication Intervention

Purpose: Technology-enabled adaptations of efficacious in-person early intervention programs for young children with autism spectrum disorder have the potential to conserve resources while increasing access to specialized educational services. Usability testing of online programs can support participant engagement by aligning program navigation and content presentation with the needs and preferences of the target end users. Method: The project includes formative work to develop a technology-enabled adaptation of the evidence-based caregiver-mediated Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation (Kasari et al., 2010) social communication intervention to be delivered by community-based early interventionists and early childhood special educators who are serving families of young children with autism in rural and remote communities. Usability testing included two components: (a) Think Aloud real-time feedback interviews (Davison et al., 1997) and (b) completion of the System Usability Scale (Sauro, 2011). The measures were conducted to explore the stakeholders' interactions with the system. Results: Feedback was largely positive indicating that the online materials were straight forward to navigate, the content was valued, visuals enhanced the experience, and multiple methods to access information (e.g., listen or read) were appreciated. Suggestions for improvement included adding further video examples, reducing page scrolling, and making some activities optional (e.g., text boxes, multiple-choice questions). Conclusions: Overall, participants smoothly navigated through the pilot materials. Revisions are being implemented to incorporate the participants' feedback.