Journal of Applied Science and Engineering

Published by Tamkang University Press

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Chien-Hsing Chou This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.1, Yung-Long Chu1 and Hui-Ju Chen1

1Department of Electrical Engineering, Tamkang University, Tamsui, Taiwan 251, R.O.C.


 

Received: September 13, 2016
Accepted: March 16, 2017
Publication Date: June 1, 2017

Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.6180/jase.2017.20.2.13  

ABSTRACT


In this study, a Mandarin phonetic symbol communication aid named as the Zhuyin communication board was developed for children with high-functioning autism. The Zhuyin communication board can be operated on tablet computers to assist autistic children with expressing their thoughts. By using this aid, autistic children can communicate their thoughts by pressing the corresponding phonetic symbols on the developed Zhuyin communication board. Compared with traditional paper keyboards, the developed aid displays the inputted phonetic symbols on the screen of tablet computer instantly and provides the corresponding voice of Zhuyin pronunciation. To stimulate the interest of autistic children, the developed aid provides a picture-based quiz for learning Mandarin phonetic symbols of various objects. In addition, we use a robot bear to mimic human speaking to interact with the autistic children while they use the Zhuyin communication board. The developed aid is available to download cost-free from the iTunes App Store, and the aid content is presented in Mandarin Chinese. Thus, users are not required to expend financial resources or possess a specific level of English language proficiency to use this aid.


Keywords: High-functioning Autism, Communication Aid, Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, Zhuyin Communication Board, Paper Keyboards


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