Abstract

The article presents a research study on recognizing therapy progress among children with autism spectrum disorder. The progress is recognized on the basis of behavioural data gathered via fve specially designed tablet games. Over 180 distinct parameters are calculated on the basis of raw data delivered via the game fow and tablet sensors – i.e. touch screen, accelerometer and gyroscope. The results obtained confrm the possibility of recognizing progress in particular areas of development. The recognition accuracy exceeds 80%. Moreover, the study identifes a subset of parameters which appear to be better predictors of therapy progress than others. The proposed method – consisting of data recording, parameter calculation formulas and prediction models – might be implemented in a tool to support both therapists and parents of autistic children. Such a tool might be used to monitor the course of the therapy, modify it and report its results.

Introduction

Autism is a complex developmental disorder that infuences the ability to communicate and learn. Autism is nowadays a growing challenge, as the number of children diagnosed with autism is rising worldwide1 . Te disorder exhibits a spectrum of symptoms that might range from mild to severe in a particular case, varying from skill to skill and from child to child. Tis makes diagnosis and therapy progress evaluation difcult and at the same time crucial for the efectiveness of the therapy. Early identifcation and proper therapy translates into a greater chance for preventing a person with autism from social exclusion. Terefore, any idea that might improve therapeutic practice is worth investigating. Tis paper presents one such idea, which incorporates the analysis of behavioural characteristics observed in autistic children while they play specially designed tablet games. Tis interdisciplinary study combines computer science and special pedagogy, by applying computer technologies and machine learning methods in the process of therapy for autistic children.