Peers app

Social interactions are full of unwritten rules. Waiting your turn, asking a question back, looking at each other… quite a lot to remember. PEERS organises physical meetings to help these young people and give them tips. All that was missing was a good app with which young people could practise social interactions at home. That’s why we developed the PEERS training app. Young people with autism can consult the app at any time, complete assignments, and check their tips to support them in their daily social interactions.

The PEERS app provides a continuous and integrated learning experience, enabling young participants to continue learning outside of PEERS meetings. Young people with autism spectrum disorder can easily complete and check off their weekly practice assignments. When they have completed all their assignments, they can take the quiz for that level to check their understanding of the important content. The app tracks assignments and user progress, with all the information in one place, accessible anywhere and at any time. This way users can quickly read the advice they need at the moment they need it.

The PEERS app is a collaboration between Innovattic, the Autism Expertise Center and the young people who use the app. We asked the young people what they encounter in their daily lives, what their needs are and how an app could help. We visited the young people and their parents to present a prototype, ask questions and fine-tune our design in a familiar environment. The result is an app that really focuses on making friends that anyone can use. We'll stay involved with the project to add new content and develop updates to keep the app relevant at all times.

As a reward for our work, the original creator of the PEERS program in America now also wants to add the American content to the app. Now that's what we call valuable work!