  Visual Programming Tools (VPTs) allow users to create interactive media
projects such as games and animations using visual representations of
programming concepts. Although VPTs have been shown to have huge potential for
teaching children with cognitive impairments including those with Autism
Spectrum Condition (ASC), research has shown that existing VPTs may not be
accessible to them. Therefore, this study proposes a set of recommendations for
the design of accessible VPTs for children with ASC. Recommendations were
initially gathered and validated by interviewing experts (n=7). The interviews
were thematically analysed to identify recommendations. A second set of
interviews with a subset of the initial experts (n=3) was then conducted to
validate the gathered recommendations. An examination of the available
literature was then conducted to identify additional recommendations for the
design of VPTs. These recommendations arose from those used for the design of
other interactive applications for children with ASC (e.g. virtual
environments, serious games) and not identified as part of those the initially
gathered from interviews. A novel set of recommendations for the design of VPTs
for children with ASC and additional cognitive impairments has been defined as
the result of this study.
