Experiences of autistic children with technologies

Experiences of autistic children with technology are often assessed by neurotypical researchers, although their perceptual and sense-making processes differ fundamentally. Empathy, as the underlying mechanism to infer another person’s experience, is of limited use in cases where life-worlds radically diverge. The same holds true for indirect assessments, e.g., through contextual information, observations, or parent or carer interviews. It is poorly defined what constitutes a positive experience for autistic children and how an allistic society can meet them halfway in establishing one. Using Actor-Network-Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis we present our methodological concept of experience, which emphasises relational as well as interactional aspects in constructing experience, while staying open for multiple interpretations and remaining critical towards its assessments. We apply our framework in a case study within OutsideTheBox, sampling multiple data sources from multiple viewpoints, and demonstrate how it can yield insightful results about the experiences that autistic children have with technologies, going beyond what can be inferred via proxy or empathy.