IHEART2U: Empowerment Based Design of Social Support Mobile App Development for Autistic Children Caregivers

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neural developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, communication difficulties, and restricted behaviours. Understanding the disorder and providing necessary social support for guidance and assistance is vital for caregivers, including educators, parents, and the public. The aim of this research is to design and develop a social support mobile app for autistic children’s caregivers named IHEART2U. We design the app by incorporating the empowerment-based design elements to ensure it provides practical assistance but also foster a sense of empowerment and control over their child's development and well-being. Caregivers can feel more confident, informed, and supported in their role. For the design and development, we used the Mobile Development Life Cycle (MADLC) as the methodological approach. During the requirements gathering, we conducted interviews in collaboration with the National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM), a private school for children with autism and caretakers. Through thematic analysis, we incorporate four empowerment-based design elements: information support, emotional support, companion, customization, and personalization in the user interface (UI) design of the mobile app. Upon completion of the high-fidelity prototype, we conducted usability testing using the System Usability Scale (SUS) to obtain feedback from the stakeholders. The score was 90.83 above average. The respondents provide constructive feedback on how to improve the app. In conclusion, we believe that by integrating these empowerment design elements, the IHEART2U social support mobile app becomes a source of empowerment, support, and guidance tool for caregivers, helping them navigate the challenges of raising and caring for children with autism. Future work will involve iterative user testing and feedback to further refine and enhance the app's effectiveness.