Avatar Assistant: Improving Social Skills in Students with an ASD Through a Computer-Based Intervention

This study assessed the efficacy of FaceSay , a computer-based social skills training program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This randomized controlled study ( N  = 49) indicates that providing children with low-functioning autism (LFA) and high functioning autism (HFA) opportuni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2011-11, Vol.41 (11), p.1543-1555
Main Authors: Hopkins, Ingrid Maria, Gower, Michael W., Perez, Trista A., Smith, Dana S., Amthor, Franklin R., Casey Wimsatt, F., Biasini, Fred J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Assistants
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autistic children
Autistic spectrum disorders
Behavior
Behavior Problems
Behavior Therapy - methods
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child and School Psychology
Child clinical studies
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - therapy
Children
Computer Assisted Instruction
Computers
Developmental disabilities
Developmental disorders
Drills (Practice)
Educational Technology
Emotion recognition
Emotional Response
Emotions
Eye Movements
Facial Expression
Female
High functioning
Humans
Infantile autism
Information Processing
Interaction
Interpersonal Competence
Interpersonal Relations
Interpersonal Relationship
Intervention
Learning Motivation
Male
Medical sciences
Neuropsychological Tests
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Pediatrics
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Public Health
Recognition (Psychology)
Resistance (Psychology)
Severity of Illness Index
Social aspects
Social Behavior
Social change
Social Development
Social interaction
Social skills
Stimuli
Students - psychology
Treatment Outcome
Visual Discrimination
Visual Stimuli
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Description
Summary:This study assessed the efficacy of FaceSay , a computer-based social skills training program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This randomized controlled study ( N  = 49) indicates that providing children with low-functioning autism (LFA) and high functioning autism (HFA) opportunities to practice attending to eye gaze, discriminating facial expressions and recognizing faces and emotions in FaceSay’s structured environment with interactive, realistic avatar assistants improved their social skills abilities. The children with LFA demonstrated improvements in two areas of the intervention: emotion recognition and social interactions. The children with HFA demonstrated improvements in all three areas: facial recognition, emotion recognition, and social interactions. These findings, particularly the measured improvements to social interactions in a natural environment, are encouraging.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1007/s10803-011-1179-z