About 80% of children with autism have deficits in visual-motor integration skills. Visual-motor integration is defined as the degree to which visual perception and body movements, including the movements of arms and legs, are well coordinated. The deficits in visual-motor integration could minimize children with autism´s opportunities to participate in team sports and limit their […]
Interactive sonification of movement trajectories during motor therapies
Interactive sonification is an effective tool used to guide individuals when practicing movements. Little research has explore the affordances of continous and discrete sound structures in supporting motor therapeutic interventions for children with autism who exhibit motor impairments. The goal of this research is to study if children with autism understand the use of such […]
Bolita – An inclusive voice assistant to support language therapy
Voice Assistants have shifted the way we communicate with ubiquitous services by enabling the use of natural language communication and the analysis of acoustic and linguistic language patterns. Speech skills of children are not yet fully developed; therefore, most conversational agents frequently misunderstand them. Bolita (i.e., “little ball” in Spanish), is a bilingual conversational agent that […]
Feel and Touch – Haptic Computing to uncover Digital Markers that are relevant for the Screening of Children with ASD
About 90% of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have atypical sensory processing . Those differences can be a potential marker of ASD. Until now, tactile processing has been little explored due to the lack of tools to assess it. However, with the growth of haptic interfaces, there is an untapped potential to understand and […]
FarmerKeeper – A Brain Computer Videogame for Neurofeeback Training
Neurofeedback therapies have shown promising clinical results in improving the attention problems of children with autism. Recent work in Human-Computer Interaction has shown Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) serious games can keep users focused during neurofeedback therapies and give them the guidance they need to promote the self-regulation of their brainwave patterns. However, there is limited work […]
BendableSound – Elastic Displays improve Motor Coordination of Children with ASD using techniques from Neurological Therapies
Worldwide, one in 59 children has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and 80% of them have motor problems, such as delayed or anticipated reactions and excessive or insufficient use of strength when they conduct a motor movement. Neurological Music Therapy (Nero-MT) uses live music to improve the timing and strength regulation of children with autism. However, […]
Zens: A Sonified Movement-Based Interface
Problem: Having a negative perception about one’s own body is one of the main reasons for individuals’ inactivity and poor adherence to the practice of physical activities. Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that regular physical activity helps reduce the risk of health diseases (e.g., diabetes), many individuals are still sedentary due […]