5.13 Design and Efficacy of a Wearable Device for Social Affective Learning in Children With Autism

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Abstract: Applied behavioral analysis (ABA) is an effective form of therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but it faces criticism for being ungeneralizable, too time intensive, and too dependent on specialists to deliver treatment. Earlier age at onset of therapy is one of the strongest predictors of later success, but waitlists to begin therapies can be as long as 18 months. To combat complications associated with the clinical setting and expedite access to therapy, we have begun development of Autism Glass, a machine-learning-assisted software system that runs on Google Glass and an Android Smartphone; it is designed for use in the child’s natural environment during social interactions. This is an exploratory- and codesigned-based study to see how children with ASD respond to our device and examine preliminary data on its effectiveness.