Educational technology for inclusion: Design of an educational software for individuals with autism spectrum disorders

The study illustrates the design, prototyping and production stages of an educational software aimed at promoting the development of social skills in autistic pupils attending the Italian primary school. The educational design of the proposed activities within the software was created on the basis of the theory of simplexity, while the design of the forms of interaction of the activities was constructed on the basis of the tasks proposed in the educational programme for autistic individuals by Patricia Howlin. The research project aims to achieve two objectives: creating an educational freeware software designed to foster the development of social skills in autistic pupils attending Italian primary schools; assessing if and to what extent the introduction of a technological variable can determine changes in terms of teaching effectiveness in Howlin’s programme.