Finding A Need To Make Independent Living Easier For Autistic Individuals

Finding A Need To Make Independent Living Easier For Autistic Individuals by Kadin McElwain: Finding A Need To Make Independent Living Easier For Autistic Individuals Independent living can be hard for individuals that are on the autism spectrum. Home cleaning can be a struggle to manage, paying bills can feel like the equivalent of pulling teeth, and hygiene can feel like a chore. While one could argue that all individuals experience this at first when they are younger, it can be different for autistic individuals. That’s why with these need-finding interviews, I decided to see what the autism community would need in order to help them better manage independent living. This will ensure that all individuals, no matter what they’re going through, get an equal chance at success in the adult world. My goal was to interview people about this topic, all within the autism or independent living industries. I came up with a plan to ask these three questions mainly: 1. What can autistic individuals find difficult about independent living? 2. What can autistic individuals do now to help them remember their independent living tasks? 3. What technologies, if improved, can make an impact on autistic individuals living independently? All of these interviews were conducted on Facebook Messenger between Monday, February 24th, and Wednesday, February 26th. My first interview was with the CEO of Autism Rocks And Rolls, Sam Mitchell. Mitchell is on the autism spectrum himself and is a college student living independently in a dorm at the University of Indiana, all while running a successful non-profit and podcast. For the first question regarding what autistic individuals may find difficult about independent living, Mitchell stated that “they can find many of the behind the scenes of running a house way too overwhelming such as maintaining bills and staying on top of dishes and laundry” and may also find being alone difficult as “there’s no one else in the house such as parents or a spouse”. For the second question regarding which technologies individuals on the spectrum can use now to help them with their routines, Mitchell suggested that autistic individuals use “visual implementations such as calendars and charts” and “setting alarms to remind themselves of the task ahead (despite it being annoying)”. For the third and final question regarding which technologies should be improved to help autistic individuals succeed in independent living, Mitchell suggested improving “schedules on tablets”, Amazon Alexa, noise cancellation headphones, and AI applications. Looking at Mitchell’s responses, we see that the most common concerns for autistic individuals when it comes to living independently are loneliness, sensory issues, and remembering which tasks need to get done at which time. But if we improve scheduling applications, voice interface technologies, and continue implementing the use of AI into these routines, we can make sure that autistic adults feel comfortable in the sense of independent living. From what I was able to observe in responses, the most common concerns for autistic individuals who are living independently are being able to pay the bills, sensory issues, and loneliness. Autistic individuals can use calendar applications, AI, and voice interface devices to help them get their tasks done, but wearable devices, smart-home devices, calendar apps, or even the tax process can all be greatly improved or simplified to be more sensory-friendly and easy to understand. That’s why my vision for this project is to make an application that incorporates a way to pay the bills and file taxes in one-click, a calendar feature that makes it easy for you to remember your chores for the day, and an automated security system that can keep you safe, among other features. With my application, all autistic individuals will be able to properly live up to their potential. It will also help reduce the stress of living independently.