MiContact

MiContact is an Educational app created by a teen on the autism spectrum. It was developed for use as a discrete social prompt to help individuals with autism make and maintain eye contact more comfortably and thus better engage with the world around them.

MiContact is a shape matching game designed to be a colorful and fun method of practicing eye contact. It was awarded the “RTE Best Social and Behavioural Science Award” and the “Abbot life to the fullest award” at the 2017 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Struggling to make eye contact is a diagnostic characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can complicate social integration and employment opportunities. Whereas 77% of unemployed people with ASD say they want to work, only 16% have full-time paid jobs. Employers report that failure to make eye contact in an interview setting is a common mistake.

MiContact was designed so that people with ASD can practice making and maintaining eye contact in a discrete manner during times they chose in places that suit them.