"You Feel Like You Kind of Walk Between the Two Worlds": A Participatory Study Exploring How Technology Can Support Emotion Regulation for Autistic People.
Lauren Gillies-Walker, Naeem Ramzan, Jean Rankin and 2 others
PMID 35018585WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic people and staff want emotion regulation technology that is adaptable, affordable and co-designed.
Participants valued consistency and early warning of distress, but flagged ethical concerns about monitoring and a lack of tools for those with higher IQ.
Key findings
01Participants identified three main themes: communication challenges, benefits and challenges of emotion regulation technology, and how technology is implemented.
02A major barrier to use was lack of training and funding, with staff noting that devices were often provided without adequate support for users or carers.
03Autistic participants expressed ethical concerns about technology that monitors internal states, fearing it could be used to enforce 'ideal' behaviours rather than support autonomy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study did not measure participants' prior knowledge of existing technologies, which may have influenced their views. Focus groups were held across different contexts (home, care, education), which may have affected the level of detail or critical feedback provided by different groups. The sample was recruited through opportunity sampling and included a mix of Autistic individuals, parents, and staff, which limits the ability to generalise findings to specific subgroups. The study reports views and experiences; it does not evaluate the efficacy of any specific technology.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that emotion regulation technology is effective. The study reports participant views and barriers to implementation, not clinical outcomes or efficacy data.