Overview
Activating the patient voice by providing a community for those with autism, allowing them to connect, learn, and share their experiences with one another through social media.
Internship Project
Havas Health + You
Role
Art direction, UI design
Year
2023
Identifying the user
Autism
is a lifelong, nonprogressive neurological disorder typically appearing before the age of 3 years.
Autistic individuals
often have great difficulty recognizing social cues.
1 in 5
of those with autism have lived independently since high school.
A “spectrum”
due to the wide variation in types and severity of symptoms experienced.
Over 75,000,000 people
worldwide are living with autism.
Currently
no medical detection or cure for autism spectrum disorder.
In today’s digital landscape, social media has made communication easier than ever. Though, many mainstream platforms lack the accessibility and support needed for individuals on the autism spectrum.
As a result, people in the ASD (autism spectrum disorder) community are often excluded from opportunities to build meaningful connections and access to valuable resources in digital spaces that are not solely designed around social cues.
Insights
~80%
of adults with ASD reported using social media networking sites for social connection.
Competitors
Advantages
Focus on people with ASD
Special interests
Communication
Social media
Pop culture & influencers
Disadvantages
Revenue
Resources
Adolescents with ASD
use technology to increase their independence, enhance their social opportunities, and relieve their anxiety and stress.
Adolescents with ASD
who reported using social media were found to have better friendship quality and great security in their friendships.
Social media makes it increasingly easy for people to communicate and connect over common interests. The nature of technology allows for this to occur without conversation and relationships hinging on an ability to understand social cues. Existing platforms focus on meeting unrealistic standards and are prevalent with cyberbullies.
The solution is to provide a community for those with autism, allowing them to connect, learn from, and share their experiences with one another, providing them a safe space where their difficulty understanding social cues would not limit their ability to make meaningful connections.
ChatrFly: An Overview
Registration
Available to those with ASD as well access for parents/guardians to monitor activity with a custodial account.
Spotlights & Resources
Users can access resources like articles with advice on how to handle certain situations as someone on the spectrum.
Search & Match
Users can access specific groups based on their interests, allowing members with similar interests to share photos and posts.
Safety
Chats are monitored for offensive language and bullying. Specific words may trigger an automatic suspension which can be lifted after review of the content. Additional measures are intended to ensure user safety.
User Experience
Onboarding
Primary User
Progress bar sets expectations for the user in the onboarding process
Option to aggregate content by linking social media accounts
Save tags that allow connection through common interests
Secondary User
(Caregiver | Parent | Guardian)
Primary user sends an invitation to secondary user to create a moderator account
Secondary user must confirm relationship to create account
User Profile
Request to chat
Ability to grant permission to chat with other users
Prevents unsolicited engagement or surprises
Allows privacy
Recent posts
See what a user has recently posted to their profile including content shared from another social media platform
Special interests
Easily identify common interests to spark connection and conversation
Hyperfixations
Community
Community posts are forums based on users’ interest tags and connections made in-app.
Users can engage with posts on the forums by liking and commenting. Engagement metrics would be hidden on user accounts to prevent social pressures allowing users to focus on making meaningful connections through shared interests and find resources devoid of distractions.
Community Influencer Profile
Well known members of the ASD community can be identified with a verified badge on their profile indicating they are a community trailblazer. Users can discover these profiles and see how others experience, overcome, and manage daily life.
Connecting
Using predictive text to assist in guiding conversations, users have the ability to make a selection from a set of AI-generated prompts and phrases designed to make interactions smoother and more engaging.
Discover
Resources
Curated content relevant to needs and goals for users on the spectrum, such as navigating school or job readiness
Promoting healthy lifestyles and independence
Tips on managing mental health or somatics
Stories
User generated short form videos
Posts from users and trailblazers
Gain insight to different experiences
Based on user interest tags
Curating a
Safe Space
Filter inappropriate content
Avoid jargon and use straightforward language
Mindful usage
Short surveys to improve user experience
