Effect of Approach Play With Finger Painting on Social Interaction Ability among Autism Childrens’s

Autism is a complex developmental disorder. Autism has some disturbances in the areas of speech, communication, and social interaction. Some treatments can be done such as behavior therapy, play therapy and speech therapy, one of treatment is approach play with finger painting. Finger painting is a painting technique uses finger directly without tools and brush. Finger painting can be used as a play tool and can train to develop a high sense of solidarity. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of approach play with finger painting on autism children’s social interaction in SLB Mutiara Tanjungpinang. Method of this research was used quasi-experiment design with pretest dan posttest without control group approach. the sample was 7 children between 6 and 12 years old using total sampling design. This study was conducted at Sekolah Luar Biasa Mutiara Tanjungpinang. Data collected by observation of ATEC (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist) modification. Data were analyzed with Wilcoxon Match Pair Test. The results showed that ρ value=0.025 (ρ value <ɑ=0.05). The result of this study concluded that there was an effect of approach play with finger painting on autism children’s social interaction in SLB Mutiara Tanjungpinang. Based on the result, it is recommendation for educational health institution and special school to applied finger painting method to exercise the autism children’s social interaction

AUTISM SCREENING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by delays in social communication and interaction as well as restricted repetitive behaviors, interest, and activities. According to the most recent reports from the CDC (2018), it is estimated that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with some form of ASD in the United States. Research has shown that early identification and intervention can significantly improve outcomes in those individuals diagnosed. As a result of this research, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended routine screening on all children for ASD at the age of 18 months and again at 24 months using a standardized autism-specific tool. This descriptive research design examined the autism screening and referral practices of providers in the southeast Kansas counties of Montgomery, Allen, Labette, Cherokee and Crawford using a paper survey. Results of the study show that providers in Southeast Kansas are aware of the AAP guidelines regarding screening and feel that screening every childhood for autism is important. However, these providers are not screening children for autism using an autism specific screening tool nor do they feel confident in screening for autism. Providers in this area had a strong desire to learn more about autism screening guidelines and specific autism screening tools

Tactile Interactions with a Humanoid Robot : Novel Play Scenario Implementations with Children with Autism

Acknowledgments: This work has been partially supported by the European Commission under contract number FP7-231500-ROBOSKIN. Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.The work presented in this paper was part of our investigation in the ROBOSKIN project. The project has developed new robot capabilities based on the tactile feedback provided by novel robotic skin, with the aim to provide cognitive mechanisms to improve human-robot interaction capabilities. This article presents two novel tactile play scenarios developed for robot-assisted play for children with autism. The play scenarios were developed against specific educational and therapeutic objectives that were discussed with teachers and therapists. These objectives were classified with reference to the ICF-CY, the International Classification of Functioning – version for Children and Youth. The article presents a detailed description of the play scenarios, and case study examples of their implementation in HRI studies with children with autism and the humanoid robot KASPAR.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe

The Influence the Picture Exchange Communication System Method toward The Communication Ability of Autistic Child

Children with autism have some very complex developmental disorders including communication, social interaction, emotions, and interest in certain behaviors. They need certain tools and methods for developing communication and language skills, especially in speaking skills. One of the methods is the Picture Exchange Communication System method. This research was conducted by using the Single Subject Research method with A-B-A design. Data collection was conducted in 20 sessions. The results of this study indicated that the effect of PECS method towards communication ability of children with autism. This was evidenced by an overlap percentage of 0%. The conclusion showed that PECS method has an effect towards the communication ability of autistic childre

Identifying predictive features of autism spectrum disorders in a clinical sample of adolescents and adults using machine learning

Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a complicated, time-consuming process which is particularly challenging in older individuals. One of the most widely used behavioral diagnostic tools is the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Previous work using machine learning techniques suggested that ASD detection in children can be achieved with substantially fewer items than the original ADOS. Here, we expand on this work with a specific focus on adolescents and adults as assessed with the ADOS Module 4. We used a machine learning algorithm (support vector machine) to examine whether ASD detection can be improved by identifying a subset of behavioral features from the ADOS Module 4 in a routine clinical sample of N = 673 high-functioning adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 385) and individuals with suspected ASD but other best-estimate or no psychiatric diagnoses (n = 288). We identified reduced subsets of 5 behavioral features for the whole sample as well as age subgroups (adolescents vs. adults) that showed good specificity and sensitivity and reached performance close to that of the existing ADOS algorithm and the full ADOS, with no significant differences in overall performance. These results may help to improve the complicated diagnostic process of ASD by encouraging future efforts to develop novel diagnostic instruments for ASD detection based on the identified constructs as well as aiding clinicians in the difficult question of differential diagnosis

A Virtual Conversational Agent for Teens with Autism: Experimental Results and Design Lessons

We present the design of an online social skills development interface for teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The interface is intended to enable private conversation practice anywhere, anytime using a web-browser. Users converse informally with a virtual agent, receiving feedback on nonverbal cues in real-time, and summary feedback. The prototype was developed in consultation with an expert UX designer, two psychologists, and a pediatrician. Using the data from 47 individuals, feedback and dialogue generation were automated using a hidden Markov model and a schema-driven dialogue manager capable of handling multi-topic conversations. We conducted a study with nine high-functioning ASD teenagers. Through a thematic analysis of post-experiment interviews, identified several key design considerations, notably: 1) Users should be fully briefed at the outset about the purpose and limitations of the system, to avoid unrealistic expectations. 2) An interface should incorporate positive acknowledgment of behavior change. 3) Realistic appearance of a virtual agent and responsiveness are important in engaging users. 4) Conversation personalization, for instance in prompting laconic users for more input and reciprocal questions, would help the teenagers engage for longer terms and increase the system's utility

Whose research is it anyway? Tensions and difficulties in research that tries to include the ‘hard to research’

In this paper I consider some of the tensions and problems that can arise, and that need to be addressed, in attempting to undertake research with hard to reach groups of ‘subjects’. In terms of my research this specifically relates to studies undertaken families that include children on the autism spectrum (including the children on the spectrum themselves) as well as children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment (MDVI). I begin by summarising my work experience and how this has shaped my research interests before moving on to discuss studies I have undertaken with the ‘hard to research’. I outline the research studies and the process of the studies before moving on to look at the issues arising. Finally I identify seven key factors regarding this type of research

Effects of Violent Video Game Exposure on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive thought Accessibility, and Aggressive Affect among Adults with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recent mass shootings have prompted the idea among some members of the public that exposure to violent video games can have a pronounced effect on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Empirical evidence for or against this claim currently is absent. To address this issue, adults with and without ASD were assigned to play a violent or nonviolent version of a customized first-person shooter video game, after which responses on three aggression-related outcome variables (aggressive behavior, aggressive thought accessibility, and aggressive affect) were assessed. Results showed strong evidence that adults with ASD are not differentially affected by acute exposure to violent video games compared to typically developing adults. Moreover, model comparisons showed modest evidence against any effect of violent game content whatsoever. Findings from the current experiment suggest that societal concerns over whether violent game exposure has a unique effect on adults with autism are not supported by evidence

Autism Screening Knowledge and Practice in Southeast Kansas

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by delays in social communication and interaction as well as restricted repetitive behaviors, interest, and activities. According to the most recent reports from the CDC, it is estimated that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with some form of ASD in the United States. Research has shown that early identification and intervention can significantly improve out­comes in those individuals diagnosed. As a result of this research, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended routine screening on all children for ASD at the age of 18 months and again at 24 months us­ing a standardized autism-specific tool. This descriptive research design examines the autism screening and refer­ral practices of providers in the southeast Kansas counties of Montgomery, Allen, Labette, Cherokee and Craw­ford. A survey was used to collect data regarding current autism screening and referral practices, knowledge on autism screening guidelines and provider attitudes on routine autism screening. The preliminary results show that providers in southeast Kansas are aware of the AAP guidelines regarding screening and feel that screening every child for autism is important. However, these providers are not screening children for autism using an autism specific screening tool. Providers in this area had a strong desire to learn more about autism screening guidelines and specific autism screening tools. A conclusion can be drawn that providers in this area understand the importance of routine autism screening but more education targeting how to perform the screening is warranted