Projects
« home
Current projects
Social Network Sites (SNSs) to mediate social support
SOCIALMIRROR
Independence is the key to a successful transition to adulthood by individuals with autism.
Social support is a crucial factor for achieving adaptive self-help life skills.
We conducted a formative design exercise with young adults with autism and caregivers
to uncover opportunities for social networks to support the important skill of promoting independence
and facilitating coordination. The results of this study led to the concept of SocialMirror,
an interactive mirror connected to an online social network that allows the young adult to seek advice
from a trusted and responsive network of family, friends and professionals.
Focus group discussions reveal the potential for SocialMirror to increase motivation to learn everyday life skills
for young adults with autism and foster collaboration with a distributed care network.
We present important design considerations to leverage a small trusted network that balances
quick response with safeguards for privacy and security of young adults with autism.
CSCW 2012
GROUPME
Building social support networks is crucial both for less-independent individuals with autism
and for their primary caregivers. We investigate the role of a social network service (SNS) that allows young adults
with autism to garner support from their family and friends. We explore the unique benefits and challenges of using
SNSs to mediate requests for help or advice. In particular, we examine the extent to which specialized features of
a SNS can engage users in communicating with their network members to get advice in varied situations.
Our findings indicate that technology-supported communication particularly strengthened the relationship between
the individual and extended network members, mitigating concerns about over-reliance on primary caregivers.
Our work identifies implications for the design of social networking services tailored to meet the needs of
this special needs population.
CHI 2013
Past projects
Supporting health-related communication and education
TRIGGERHUNTER
We propose a collaborative and educational game for families with asthmatic children to
improve their health. This paper describes design approaches and specifications of a game called
TriggerHunter that enables asthmatic children to see asthma triggers in their home environment through an
augmented reality technology. The goal of designing a game for tracking asthma triggers in the real world is
to educate asthmatic children and their parents about triggers that may cause asthma attacks or worsen
symptoms. By providing tailored learning experience that is enjoyable, this interactive game aims to increase
awareness of asthma triggers and changes behaviors as to improve pediatric asthma management.
CHI 2010 Extended Abstract
REFL-EX
Adolescents and young adults on the high functioning autism (HFA) spectrum have very
different needs and abilities. Deficits in social skills and executive function, however, are generally considered defining
characteristics of HFA. Deficits in socialization often interfere with these individual's educational experience and quality of life,
and explicit instruction is required to help them acquire age appropriate social skills. We describe an approach to social skills
training for adolescents and young adults with HFA. Our design allows the user to role-play through social scenarios - such
as going to the movie theatre-in a way that we believe may lead toward generalization.
Pervasive Health 2011
more (before 2010) »
SOCIALMIRROR
Independence is the key to a successful transition to adulthood by individuals with autism.
Social support is a crucial factor for achieving adaptive self-help life skills.
We conducted a formative design exercise with young adults with autism and caregivers
to uncover opportunities for social networks to support the important skill of promoting independence
and facilitating coordination. The results of this study led to the concept of SocialMirror,
an interactive mirror connected to an online social network that allows the young adult to seek advice
from a trusted and responsive network of family, friends and professionals.
Focus group discussions reveal the potential for SocialMirror to increase motivation to learn everyday life skills
for young adults with autism and foster collaboration with a distributed care network.
We present important design considerations to leverage a small trusted network that balances
quick response with safeguards for privacy and security of young adults with autism.
CSCW 2012
GROUPME
Building social support networks is crucial both for less-independent individuals with autism
and for their primary caregivers. We investigate the role of a social network service (SNS) that allows young adults
with autism to garner support from their family and friends. We explore the unique benefits and challenges of using
SNSs to mediate requests for help or advice. In particular, we examine the extent to which specialized features of
a SNS can engage users in communicating with their network members to get advice in varied situations.
Our findings indicate that technology-supported communication particularly strengthened the relationship between
the individual and extended network members, mitigating concerns about over-reliance on primary caregivers.
Our work identifies implications for the design of social networking services tailored to meet the needs of
this special needs population.
CHI 2013
TRIGGERHUNTER
We propose a collaborative and educational game for families with asthmatic children to
improve their health. This paper describes design approaches and specifications of a game called
TriggerHunter that enables asthmatic children to see asthma triggers in their home environment through an
augmented reality technology. The goal of designing a game for tracking asthma triggers in the real world is
to educate asthmatic children and their parents about triggers that may cause asthma attacks or worsen
symptoms. By providing tailored learning experience that is enjoyable, this interactive game aims to increase
awareness of asthma triggers and changes behaviors as to improve pediatric asthma management.
CHI 2010 Extended Abstract
REFL-EX
Adolescents and young adults on the high functioning autism (HFA) spectrum have very
different needs and abilities. Deficits in social skills and executive function, however, are generally considered defining
characteristics of HFA. Deficits in socialization often interfere with these individual's educational experience and quality of life,
and explicit instruction is required to help them acquire age appropriate social skills. We describe an approach to social skills
training for adolescents and young adults with HFA. Our design allows the user to role-play through social scenarios - such
as going to the movie theatre-in a way that we believe may lead toward generalization.
Pervasive Health 2011
© 2013 Hwajung Hong. All rights reserved.