Saturday 22 February 2014

Autism Research on Detecting Emotions


Reprint of my article published by HealthyPlace.com on January 28, 2014.



More often than not, when people see others yawning, they find themselves yawning as well. This phenomenon is known as social yawning and it involves a deeper set of emotions. Yawning in this scenario reflects a person’s empathy for another. Such instinctual display of empathy usually strengthens the social group and the relationship among individuals. However, recent research shows that contagiousyawning is not always the case for people on ASD spectrum.
Research offers many explanations for the deficiency to perceive emotions typical for ASD population. Most dominant one is that autistic children tend to confuse the expressions being displayed and therefore find it difficult to interpret them successfully. 

In 2011, I was visiting MIT Media Lab and met Dr.Rosalind Picard, an MIT Professor, who leads a number of research projects on assistive technologies for people with autism. Dr. Pickard tells us that many autistic children are brilliant in reading facial expressions if they analyze them on a computer or observe another person from a distance. The distinction, however, arises when we try to measure face-to-face interaction. An autistic child focuses hard on comprehending what we are saying when we talk to them and therefore ignores our facial expressions. 

To help autistic children counter these challenges, Picard and her team at MIT Media Lab are trying to develop special assistive technology for expression analysis. The software uses six affective-cognitive mental states defined by Professor Baron-Cohen from the University of Cambridge: Agreeing, Concentrating, Disagreeing, Interested, Thinking and Unsure. The technology tracks the facial points, monitors face transitions, records the head poses and extracts the facial features. As the facial expressions change, the software keeps recording the degree of each emotion as seen in the different expressions. Professor Picard emphasizes the importance of dynamic analysis for face transitions. The problem is that static face expressions are not always representative of the expressed emotion and it is the history of face transitions that gives us cues to deciphering another person. For example, if someone looks confused as they didn't understand or missed something in our speech, we might mistakenly perceive their facial expression as disagreement with our statements.

"Emotional Intelligence, Technology & Autism", Rosalind Picard, MIT

It turns out that, based on the dynamic analysis of facial transitions, the computer can easily detect what the person is feeling. When tested on different categories of contexts and behaviours, the computer software developed at MIT Media Lab appeared to be more successful in recognizing facial transitions than people in general. This technology is a scientific breakthrough and marks a significant step towards availability of mainstream assistive tools for individuals with Autism.
Dr. Mari Davies and Dr. Susan Bookheimer, neuropsychology researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted a study to compare the brain activity of 16 typically developing children and 16 high-functioning autistic children. These children were subjected to a series of faces showing emotions of anger, fear, happiness and neutral expressions while undergoing Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Half of the faces had their eyes averted, the other half stared directly back at the children. 

It was found that, Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex (VLPFC), the part of the brain which evaluates emotions, became active when the direct-gaze faces came up and quieted down when the averted-gaze faces were displayed to the typically developing children. However, the autistic children showed no reaction to either set of faces. This shows that autistic children do not perceive any difference in emotion whether the face stares back at them or looks away from them.
Emotions are of second nature to the typically developing children; however, for autistic children recognizing emotions is a very difficult process. Yet, autistic children are often able to recognize simple emotions. In a study conducted by Professor Baron-Cohen, it was found that autistic children could make out faces that showed happy or sad emotions but had difficulty identifying faces carrying expressions of surprise or fear. 

According to Dr. Angelique Hendriks from Radboud University, the reason for this deficiency could be a weak central coherence. This term defines the inability of autistic children to combine the parts of information or signals they receive into one whole coherent picture. This is why they treat different parts of information separately and are unable to connect and relate them to the situation at hand.
Dr. Ellie Wilson in her PhD research at Macquarie University tested the hypothesis of whether autistic children can match images onto real life people. The study demonstrated that the key difference with neurotypical children is in the way autistic children move their eyes around the face. It may be possible that training might improve their recognition skills, though the results from a few training studies in the past haven’t been particularly convincing. 

Among many problems faced by autistic children, having no perceptual ability to read facial expressions is the most serious and pressing of them all. Researchers and technologists are working together to develop mechanisms which will aid the learning of autistic children and help them navigate in the social world.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Understanding Learning Disabilities

Understanding Learning Disabilities


Reprint of my article published by MedHelp.org on Jan 18th

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2.4 million children in the United States are diagnosed with a learning disability and receiving special education services.  Within this staggering number, you might be wondering if your child’s poor grades, lack of interest in school or other intellectual or emotional problems are something more than poor study habits and boredom.  If you are concerned that your child may be suffering from a learning disability, read on.

Learning disabilities encompass a number of specific conditions, ranging from mild to severe.  Learning disabilities are different from other disabilities, such as intellectual disability (also known as mental retardation), autism and sensory (vision/hearing) problems.  Most people who are diagnosed with a learning disability have average (or even above-average) intelligence, but they struggle with certain skills in particular areas. 

The main sign of a learning disability is a disconnect between a person’s level of ability versus his or her level of achievement.  For example, a child may be perfectly capable of learning the alphabet, yet he or she struggles to say the letters in order.  Or a person might be on the developmental level of learning to read, but for some unexplained reason, he or she cannot seem to get through a paragraph.  Learning disabilities tend to affect abilities in one (or more) of the following areas:

Hearing/listening
Speech
Reading
Writing/Spelling
Deductive reasoning
Math
Executive Function

Many times learning disabilities are hereditary; if a family member (such as a parent or sibling) has LD, the child is more likely to suffer from one.  Other causes of LD include problems during pregnancy (i.e. drug/alcohol use during pregnancy, premature birth or low birth weight and prolonged labor, which could lead to a lack of oxygen), head trauma and poor nutrition. 

If you notice changes in your child’s school performance or behavior, you may want to consider having your child tested for a learning disability.  Even a mild learning disability can have a major impact on your child’s education and self-esteem.  The sooner the problem is discovered, the sooner a plan (often known as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Service Plan (ISP)) can be developed and implemented. 

Start by keeping a log of your child’s behavior and school performance.  This helps you (and your doctor) determine if there are any patterns in his or her behavior/performance and what could be triggering them.  You can also schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher(s) to discuss any problems or concerns they may have.  Getting everyone in your child’s life on the same page is an important first step towards determining if your child does indeed have a learning disability. 

Prior to any formal testing being completed, you and your child’s teacher(s) might be able to devise and implement interventions to assist your child academically, behaviorally, or both, if necessary.  Just because your child is struggling in some areas of learning does not necessarily mean a diagnosis of LD is inevitable.  However, if after the implementation of a plan your child still struggles, you might want to consider more formalized testing to determine the nature of the problem. 

There is not one specific test to determine if your child does indeed have a learning disability.  In fact, your child may require several screenings, tests and/or diagnostic interviews to determine the cause, type and extent of the problem.  Most testing starts with some form of intelligence testing, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.  An intelligence test helps educators and psychologists determine your child’s intellectual functioning; it can also provide clues as to what areas your child may struggle or have a deficiency in.  After intelligence testing is complete, your child may be given other, more specific screening tools/tests to assess his or her ability in a particular area. 

Once the area of deficiency is identified and your child’s level of functioning is determined, you will sit down with a team – who usually consists of you, your child (if old enough), your child’s teachers, a psychologist and anyone else who will be working with your child – to develop a plan of action to assist your child.  This might include modifications to your child’s education (such as being given more time during a test or using visual aids to help your child learn more effectively), as well as perhaps a teacher’s aide or tutor to help keep your child on task and focused.  These modifications might start off rather heavy-handed to help your child reach his or her potential, and they can be gradually tapered off as your child gets older or learns more skills. 


Remember, you are your child’s best advocate.  If the school does not seem to believe there is a problem or refuse to test your child, you can always seek a second opinion.  Speak with your child’s pediatrician if you have concerns that are not being addressed.  He or she can usually write out a referral for formalized testing; you can then show the results of this testing to the school for further action. 

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstar/4418249819