Quantative measures of social response for autism diagnosis

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Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by a severe set of social and communicative deficits. Autism is diagnosed behaviorally; there is no known blood test, genetic test, or functional imaging method that can diagnose autism. Existing diagnostic methods provide primarily qualitative descriptions of dysfunctional social skills. Given the need to capitalize on early brain plasticity and thus maximize the beneficial impacts of intervention, there is a great need for novel, sensitive and quantified performance-based measurements of social vulnerabilities in young children with autism.The goal of this project is to enhance methods for diagnosing autism by providing technology that can produce quantitative, objective measurements of social response from both passive and interactive recognition techniques. Passive recognition systems characterize social responses without directly taking part in the social interaction (for example, from cameras and microphones in the walls and ceiling of a room). Interactive robots will engage in social presses with an individual in the interest of eliciting a social response that can be measured directly. Preliminary data shows that these interactive systems can provide measurements which are free of subjective bias, which can be tailored to the needs of an individual, and which generate interest and motivation in many children with autism.