Construction and Development of an eHealth Technology for the Stimulation of Autistic Children

The study addresses the construction and development of a Responsive Portal, named ‘Estimule’ for the incorporation of a collection of playful activities designed to assist health professionals in their work focused on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research was developed based on the MITDS Method in two phases: (1) use of bibliographical research and (2) experimental research. Initially, a low-fidelity prototype was developed, with the aim of assisting healthcare professionals in prescribing playful activities to optimize the therapeutic process and contribute to the development of children with autism. The Portal presents six different environments, which have different functionalities for the development of cognitive, motor and social skills. In this context, the technology developed constitutes an innovative therapeutic resource and was evaluated as capable of helping health professionals to promote more personalized assistance to the assisted population, with the act of playing as a differentiator. It is intended that this Portal will be widely tested and can be implemented in different realities, so that new versions can serve, in addition to children, to their parents/family members, caregivers and educators.