泛自閉症兒童與青少年，因生理與心理的狀態不同於一般人，所以常常會對自己的生活需要或求助的事無法表達，導致溝通障礙。因此若未給予其適度的關心，他們的生存權利與基本的生活尊嚴都將會受到嚴重的威脅，因此如何為自閉症學習溝通表達的相關規劃，再依其不同生理、心理特性來加以逐步改善其生活所需的溝通困難並提高其生活福祉，將成為先進國家一個相當重要的研究議題。
學校是一充滿口語符號的環境，學業學習極側重聽話技能、遵循指示、理解語言、及口語表達。自閉症學童如具有中度以上障礙者，詞彙尋取明顯就有困難，連帶影響口語組織能力不足或缺陷，無法以有效方法與他人進行適當的交談、無法有組織地敘說事件、亦無法遵循語用規則與他人進行適當的交談、導致出現認知問題等等，進而造成無法與他人有效溝通。
然而自閉症之認知模式均和正常人有相當大之差異，也因此常造成其與外界之溝通不甚理想之情形，因此本研究選擇中度以上自閉症孩童做為研究的主要對象，期望能透過溝通介面Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), picture exchange (PE), and speech-generating devices(SGDs)使用的研究，以定義設計適用於此族群的溝通介面、介入評估與帶動自閉症溝通困難使用者相關研究。
階段一，主要探討中度以上泛自閉症孩童三位對象，介入觸控圖像與辨識能力，藉由實驗者參照多基線設計方法，設計辨識、回應訓練，介入設計的Hierarchical Relating Menu (HRM)與 Pie Abbreviation-Expansion Menu (PAEM)，以多基線設計與訓練的方式來釐清的操作與認知特性，實驗訓練結果發現受測者對於階層關聯模式與同心圓的擴縮模式皆有不同程度的使用效果，但對於圖像辨識詞類順序規則結果並不理想，這些結果將有助於從事介面設計時能細部考慮符合自閉症者的認知問題。
階段二，主要探討中度以上泛自閉症孩童四位對象，操作溝通與請求協助的能力，透過軟體，建構一個能選擇圖像自動組織的介面Auto Organizational Menu (AOM)，協助僅有單詞或順序困難的個案訓練表達，搭配多重個案研究與撤回設計方法，介入訓練個案，可提供後續家長、特教老師得以訓練自閉症學生提高溝通需求與行動求助訊息的成功率。
以上研究能逐步解開自閉症對介面的認知特性，並得以協助教育自閉症者溝通需求表達，提升求助達成率與提供研發者開發更多適用於泛自閉症者介面，讓自閉症的需求、求助不再是被動的形式，並有助於未來從事介面設計時能符合自閉症者的特殊需求。

Autism spectrum disorder(ASD) children and adolescents, because of the physical and psychological state is different from the average person, so often their own life needs or help things can’t express, leading to communication barriers. If they do not give their appropriate care, life and basic dignity will be a serious threat their right. Therefore, autism need learning expression of the relevant and planning how to communicate with others. According to their different physiological and psychological characteristics to gradually improving the communication difficulties and the well-being of their lives, it will be a very important research topic in advanced countries.
The school is an environment full of spoken symbols. Academic learning focuses on listening skills, following instructions, understanding language, and speaking. Autistic students who have moderate or severe disabilities have obvious difficulties in finding words and have insufficient or defective oral communication skills. They can not properly communicate with others in an effective way, fail to organize the incident in an organized manner, and can not follow them pragmatic rules and proper conversation with others, leading to cognitive problems, etc., resulting in an inability to effectively communicate with others.
The participants of this study is mainly composed of above moderate autism and cognitive learning disability. The cognitive patterns of autism are quite different from those of normal people, and they often result in their communication disorder with the outside. Therefore, this study selected the subject of moderate autism and cognitive learning weak as the subject of research, and they were expected that they would be able to communicate with the picture exchange communication system (PECS), picture exchange (PE), and speech-generation devices (SGDs) research result. To define the communication interface design, experimental intervention methods and driving non-verbal ASD user interface related research.
Phase1, the research mainly discusses the three participants of moderate autism, intervenes in touch image and identification ability. By experimenting with multiple-treatment reversal design, design identification, response experimenter’s method. Hierarchical Relating Menu (HRM) and Pie Abbreviation-Expansion Menu (PAEM), which are mainly involved in the study of three stages of experimental methods. Multi-baseline experiment and intervention are to clarify the operation and cognitive characteristics, experimental intervention results found that the subjects for the hierarchical association model and concentric expansion mode have different degrees of use, but the image recognition and word order were not ideal results. These results will guide the next phase of the interface design to focus on the design of ASD cognitive problems.
Phase 2, the research mainly explored the four children with ASD, evaluated the ability in operational communicate and request help with others. Through the software design, we built an automatic selection of images interface, it named as auto organizational menu (AOM). The interface can express their thought, to help only the word or sequence failure ASD intervention, with multiple baseline and withdrawal design methods, involved in intervention participants, can provide follow-up parents, special education teachers to train ASD students to improve communication needs and action for help success rate.
The above study can gradually unlock the cognitive characteristics of autism from the interface design and help educate autistic people to communicate the demand expression. Then it can be improved the rate of help and provide developers to create more applicable to the autologous interface, The demand for help, is no longer a passive form, and help the future in the interface design to meet the special needs of autistic people.

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