Use of a Novel Imaging Technology for Remote Autism Diagnosis: A Reflection on Experience of Stakeholders

AbstractTimely diagnosis and early interventions are critical to improving the long term functioning of a child with ASD. However, a major challenge facing parents is difficulty in obtaining on-time access to appropriate diagnostic services. To address this need, an imaging technology, NODA® (Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment), has been successfully developed and field-tested. NODA® includes 1) NODA SmartCapture; a smart-phone based recording system for parents to capture and share in-home video evidence of their child behavior and 2) NODA Connect; a HIPPA compliant web-platform for diagnosticians to conduct remote autism diagnostic assessments based on in-home video evidence of behavior, developmental history and their clinical judgment. In the field study, parents captured and shared videos evidence from their homes via NODA SmartCapture and diagnosticians conducted remote diagnostic assessment via NODA Connect. Results show that parents were able to successfully collect video evidence of behavior as per given prescription and diagnosticians were able to complete remote diagnostic assessments. This paper is a reflection on the first hand experience of key stakeholders (parents and diagnosticians) using NODA® in the field

Supporting children with complex communication needs

Many children face significant challenges communicating, expressing themselves, and sharing their creative thoughts and ideas with others. Interactive technologies are playing an increasing role in addressing these challenges. This workshop will be an opportunity to discuss design, implementation, and evaluation methods, the needs of specific communities, as well as experiences in previous and current projects

Play and Developmental Outcomes in Infant Siblings of Children with Autism

We observed infant siblings of children with autism later diagnosed with ASD (ASD siblings; n = 17), infant siblings of children with autism with and without other delays (Other Delays and No Delays siblings; n = 12 and n = 19, respectively) and typically developing controls (TD controls; n = 19) during a free-play task at 18 months of age. Functional, symbolic, and repeated play actions were coded. ASD siblings showed fewer functional and more non-functional repeated play behaviors than TD controls. Other Delays and No Delays siblings showed more non-functional repeated play than TD controls. Group differences disappeared with the inclusion of verbal mental age. Play as an early indicator of autism and its relationship to the broader autism phenotype is discussed

Behavioral Profiles of Affected and Unaffected Siblings of Children with Autism: Contribution of Measures of Mother–Infant Interaction and Nonverbal Communication

We investigated whether deficits in social gaze and affect and in joint attention behaviors are evident within the first year of life among siblings of children with autism who go on to be diagnosed with autism or ASD (ASD) and siblings who are non-diagnosed (NoASD-sib) compared to low-risk controls. The ASD group did not differ from the other two groups at 6 months of age in the frequency of gaze, smiles, and vocalizations directed toward the caregiver, nor in their sensitivity to her withdrawal from interaction. However, by 12 months, infants in the ASD group exhibited lower rates of joint attention and requesting behaviors. In contrast, NoASD-sibs did not differ from comparison infants on any variables of interest at 6 and 12 months

Designing motion-based activities to engage students with autism in classroom settings

We report on a nine-month-long observational study with teachers and students with autism in a classroom setting. We explore the impact of motion-based activities on students' behavior. In particular, we examine how the playful gaming activity impacted students' engagement, peer-directed social behaviors, and motor skills. We document the effectiveness of a collaborative game in supporting initiation of social activities between peers, and in eliciting novel body movements that students were not observed to produce outside of game play. We further identify the positive impact of game play on overall classroom engagement. This includes an "audience effect" whereby non-playing peers direct initiations to those playing the game and vice versa, and a positive "spillover" effect of the activity on students' social behavior outside of game play. We identify key considerations for designing and deploying motion-based activities for children with autism in a classroom setting. Copyright is held by the owner/author(s)

Le Travailleur : organe de la Fédération du Haut-Rhin (Parti socialiste, Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière), paraissant le samedi

03 février 19061906/02/03 (A1,N5)-1906/02/03.Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : FrancComt