Investigating the usability of social networking sites for teenagers with autism

Abstract

Teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to be socially isolated due to the interpersonal challenges of autism, yet they enjoy using computers. This study investigated the hypothesis that social networking sites provide the appropriate communication tools for teenagers with ASD. It concluded that although social networking sites remove extraneous stimuli which results in social anxiety among people with ASD, their design functionality does not provide the motivation required to initiate/conduct communication/social interaction among teenagers with ASD. Rather, people with ASD are motivated to communicate with others if the communication is part of an activity. Therefore, a multiplayer networking game has the potential of motivating teenagers with ASD to interact with others through entertainment.