Internet of Things (IoT)-Enhanced Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for Special Education Needs

Chun Man Victor Wong; Rosanna Yuen-Yan Chan; Yen Na Yum; Kangzhong Wang

doi:10.3390/s21196693

Internet of Things (IoT)-Enhanced Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for Special Education Needs

Sensors (Basel). 2021 Oct 8;21(19):6693. doi: 10.3390/s21196693.

Authors

Chun Man Victor Wong¹, Rosanna Yuen-Yan Chan^{2

3}, Yen Na Yum¹, Kangzhong Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong, China.
² Centre for Perceptual and Interactive Intelligence, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Information Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China.

Abstract

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has become a popular behavioral therapy in the special education needs (SEN) community. ABA is used to manage SEN students' behaviors by solving problems in socially important settings, and puts emphasis on having precise measurements on physical and observable events. In this work, we present how Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can be applied to enhance ABA therapy in normal SEN classroom settings. We measured (1) learning performance data, (2) learners' physiological data, and (3) learning environment sensors' data. Upon preliminary analysis, we have found that learners' physiological data is highly diverse, while learner performance seems to be related to learners' electrodermal activity. Our preliminary findings suggest the possibility of enhancing ABA for SEN with IoT technologies.

Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT); applied behavior analysis (ABA); autism spectrum disorder (ASD); special education needs (SEN).

MeSH terms

Applied Behavior Analysis*
Education, Special
Humans
Internet of Things*
Learning