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Emotional Expression in Children With ASD: A Pre-Study on a Two-Group Pre-Post-Test Design Comparing Robot-Based and
Flavia Lecciso1,2, Annalisa Levante1,2, Rosa Angela Fabio3
1Department of History, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy.
Frontiers in Psychology
|August 9, 2021
Summary
Technology-based interventions, including robot and computer training, show similar effectiveness in improving facial emotion recognition and expression for children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). These methods offer a promising step towards generalizing learned skills to real-world interactions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Assistive Technology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Children with autism spectrum condition (ASC) often exhibit delays in facial emotion recognition and expression.
- Existing technological interventions (robots, computers, avatars) show promise but often focus on recognition rather than expression.
- Generalizing skills learned in therapy to naturalistic settings remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of two technology-based interventions for improving basic emotion expression in children with ASC.
- To compare a robot-mediated training approach with a hybrid computer-based training approach.
- To explore the engagement levels associated with the hybrid technological device for facilitating generalization.
Main Methods:
- A two-group pre-post-test design was used with 12 children diagnosed with ASC.
- Participants were assigned to either robot-based training (n=6) or computer-based training (n=6).
- Evaluations of facial expression and production of four basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger) were conducted before and after interventions.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements were observed in recognizing sadness and expressing happiness and sadness post-intervention.
- Group-time interactions indicated significant effects for fear and anger expression.
- No significant differences were found between the robot-based and computer-based training groups in effectiveness or engagement.
Conclusions:
- Both robot-mediated and computer-based interventions demonstrate comparable efficacy in enhancing facial emotion recognition and expression in children with ASC.
- These findings suggest technology-based approaches are valuable tools for addressing emotional expression deficits in ASC.
- The study provides preliminary evidence for the potential of these interventions to facilitate the generalization of learned emotional skills to naturalistic settings.
