Clasp: Digital Tactile Anxiety Management for the Health Internet of Things

虽然英国没有自闭症患者的登记，但国家自闭症协会估计，英国有70万人属于自闭症谱系。然而，除此之外，我们几乎所有人在一生中都遭受着某种形式的焦虑。根据Anxiety UK的数据，每6个人中就有1人经历过某种形式的“神经质健康问题”，其中最常见的是焦虑和抑郁。英国焦虑症协会估计，超过十分之一的人可能在人生的某个阶段患有“致残性焦虑症”（http：//www.anxietyuk.org.uk/about-anxiety/frequently-asked-questions/）。这些数字还不包括我们所有人经常经历的各种各样的轻微焦虑。这个项目的目的是与一群自闭症患者，他们的朋友和家人，触觉数字焦虑管理和同伴-支持工具，帮助自闭症患者理解和管理他们在社交活动中的焦虑。原型Clasp系统将被开发，有三个核心设计组件：1）一个触觉数字焦虑对象，它使用可挤压的蓝牙连接的数字“压力球”将焦虑水平传达到连接的智能手机; 2）通过SMS和分布式社交网络服务（SNS）状态更新的同伴支持网络通信设施;3）焦虑数据聚合器和个人和社区反馈的可视化。如果“压力球”的使用达到用户定义的阈值，则将触发用户定义的响应。用户可以查看他们的触发器历史记录，这将显示触发器到达的时间和位置。因此，Clasp将允许自闭症患者追踪他们的焦虑水平，反思在不同情况下是什么让他们焦虑，尝试缓解焦虑的干预措施，并在高度焦虑的情况下获得同龄人的支持。Clasp的具体功能将通过与包括自闭症患者在内的各种利益相关者的深入接触来实现。Clasp将通过一项研究来支持自闭症成年人的焦虑如何受到社交活动的影响，以及数字技术在管理焦虑方面可能发挥的作用。Clasp将通过一个过程来发展，该过程迭代和协作地捕获焦虑管理和同伴支持系统的需求，为这样的系统构建原型，并评估Clasp和类似数字化工具未来开发的关键设计影响。我们还将调查针对非自闭症用户的Clasp版本，从而解决更广泛用户的焦虑问题，包括那些有精神/学习障碍的人以及更普遍的人。

Although there is no register of people with autism in the UK, the National Autistic Society estimates that 700,000 people in the UK are on the autistic spectrum. Beyond this, however, almost all of us suffer from anxiety - in some form - during our lifetime. According to Anxiety UK, 1 in 6 people experience some form of 'neurotic health problem', of which the most common are anxiety and depression. Anxiety UK estimates that more than 1 in 10 people are likely to have a 'disabling anxiety disorder' at some stage in their life (http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/about-anxiety/frequently-asked-questions/). And these figures do not include the many and varied minor forms of anxiety that all of us experience on a regular basis.The aim of this project is to co-design and co-produce, with a cohort of autism sufferers, their friends and family, a tactile digital anxiety management and peer-support tool to assist people with autism in understanding and managing their anxiety in social engagement.The prototype Clasp system will be developed to have three core design components: 1) a tactile digital anxiety object which communicates levels of anxiety to a connected smartphone, implemented using a squeezable Bluetooth-connected digital 'stress ball';2) a peer-support network communication facility via SMS and distributed Social Network Service (SNS) status updates;3) an anxiety data aggregator and visualization for personal and community feedback. If use of the 'stress ball' reaches user-defined thresholds, a user-defined response will be triggered. The user can view their trigger history, which will show times and locations when triggers were reached. Hence, Clasp will allow those with autism to track their anxiety levels over time, to reflect on what made them anxious in different situations, to experiment with interventions that alleviate their anxiety, and to get support from their peers in situations of high anxiety.The specific features of Clasp will come about through an in-depth engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, including those with autism. Clasp will be underpinned by a study into how anxiety in autistic adults is impacted by and impacts their social engagement and the role digital technology may play in managing anxiety. Clasp will evolve through a process that iteratively and collaboratively captures the requirements for an anxiety management and peer-support system, builds a prototype for such a system, and evaluates key design implications for future development of Clasp and similar digital tools. We will also investigate versions of Clasp targeted to non-autistic users, thus addressing anxiety issues in a broader range of users including those with mental/learning disabilities as well as people more generally.