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Appropriateness of the TOBY Application, an iPad Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Thematic Approach

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Abstract

This study aimed to explore the appropriateness of an ICT intervention, the Therapeutic Outcomes by You application (TOBY app), from the perspectives of the parents. Parental experiences of twenty-four parents of a child with ASD who had participated in a three-month trial using the TOBY app were collected using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted and themes were mapped against an appropriateness framework. Collectively, parents felt the TOBY app was relevant and important to them and their children’s needs, while expressing partial support of the TOBY app as: a positive experience for them and their children, beneficial for them and their children, a socially and ecological valid intervention, and an intervention that supported change and continuation in the skills learnt.

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Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Lishman Health Foundation for funding this research project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Kent St., Bentley, Perth, Western Australia, 6102, Australia

    Dave Parsons, Sharmila Vaz, Hoe Lee & Reinie Cordier

  2. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

    Nathan J. Wilson

  3. Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Reinie Cordier

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  1. Dave Parsons
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  2. Nathan J. Wilson
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  3. Sharmila Vaz
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  4. Hoe Lee
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  5. Reinie Cordier
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Contributions

DP conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the interviews, performed the data analysis, interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript; NJW participated in the design, assisted with data analysis and interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript; SV participated in its design and interpretation of the data; HL participated in the design of the study and interpretation of the data; and RC participated in the design, assisted with interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dave Parsons.

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Conflict of interest

The application described in this paper is available online through the Apple iTunes store. The authors (and funders) have no affiliation with the application or its developers and will not receive, or have previously received, any royalties from sales. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

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Parsons, D., Wilson, N.J., Vaz, S. et al. Appropriateness of the TOBY Application, an iPad Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Thematic Approach. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 4053–4066 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04115-9

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