International Journal of Computational Models and Algorithms in Medicine, 2(2), 23-41, April-June 2011 23
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Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Facial Expression Recognition, Facial Expression Wonderland,
Information and Computer Technology, Pervasive Developmental Disorders
IntroductIon
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs).
Currently, the major cause of ASD is still un-
known. ASD is commonly characterized by the
lack of social skills, cognition deficits in facial
expression recognition and Theory of Mind
(ToM), language delay and rigid behaviors
the role of Information and
computer technology for
children with Autism Spectrum
disorder and the Facial
expression Wonderland (FeW)
Rung-Yu Tseng, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Ellen Yi-Luen, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
AbStrAct
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Signifcant
defcits in the children with ASD include lack of social communication skills and cognitive dysfunction. This
paper reviews and evaluates the infuence of different kinds of Information and Computer Technology (ICT)
applications that facilitate intervention and training for children with ASD. This paper also presents a novel
design prototype, Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW), to train the children with ASD based on the progres-
sive levels of training under a given background context. This prototype is designed to improve the ability of
the ASD children in facial expression recognition.
(American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In
addition, most ASD children have certain ex-
tent of mental retardation. Typically, in daily
life these children lack social communication
skills to interact with others and are often seen
as social outcasts. For instance, ASD children,
like most children, might not have eye contact
with others during an inter-person conversa-
tion. Others could misinterpret this manner
as rude behavior when meeting these children
for the first time. Additionally, they are highly
DOI: 10.4018/jcmam.2011040102