Using a motion-tracking device to facilitate motion control in children with ASD for neuroimaging

Purpose: Conducting neurological scans of children with disabilities is difficult because participants exhibit excessive motion. We examined whether a motion-tracking system that combined real-time visual feedback with positive reinforcement and shaping could facilitate motion control in two children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: Using a modified changing criterion design, we evaluated whether the intervention could facilitate decreases in the participants' range of motion and increases in duration of motion control in a mock scanner. Results: Participants restricted head motion to increasingly smaller distance windows for 2 min. Once participants limited head displacement to 3 mm for 2 min, duration of motion control increased to a range of 7-20 min. Summary-level data from the actual scan suggests increases in motion control generalized outside of the intervention context. Conclusion: This study adds to the limited research on the use of behavioral interventions to increase motion control for neuroimaging in children with disabilities.