Mobile computing and Autism

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Hi everyone,

i am a university professor in electronics and am here to discuss with all of you how can technology help in detecting Autism. My main interest is how can signs of Autism be detected at an early stage.

best
Nash

When I think back to my youth, people could tell I was autistic, but there was nothing that could be done about it anyway. It's not like there's a guide book, although there are numerous books for parents of autistic children, they all put such a sinister spin on it that I'm kinda glad my parents didn't bother. Their view was he is what he is just give him as much freedom as we can. And it kinda worked. I bet it wouldn't have worked if they had spend years and years trying to convince me I had autism, because I know I wouldn't have believed it anyway.

So I don't know how a mobile phone app could possibly help, sorry.

Also my teachers were awful, they didn't care about teaching at all, they were just stupid kids themselves and they were only teachers because they couldn't get any other job, unfortunately. If they had been told I was autistic they would not have known what to do and in all likelihood would have treated me even worse. And one of the teachers I remember being particularly awful worked at a private school, so paying won't get you better service.

I wish I could believe that teachers actually cared about teaching, but I've yet to see any evidence. Teaching has nothing at all to do with making people memorise facts. I could tie you to a chair and make you memorise facts until you expire, doesn't mean you've learned anything from the experience. Well that's EXACTLY how the school system works.

i'd agree with you on the teacher's part...and also on how your parents dealt with the situation to some extent. Maybe your case was mild and so it didn't have a profound impact on you? maybe it is the level of awareness about Autism that drive our parents to deal with the situation based on gut feelings?

i am not so sure. But i have seen some severe cases and most of the time it all boils down to the level of awareness. what i am trying to do is actually to grant parents the peace of mind in case the child is not Autistic or the means of being proactive in case the child is. Really, i think i just trying to make it less dramatic for parents having to see a specialist with all the rituals involved and anxiety that follows.

Cheers, Jerry00. and thanks for sharing.

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Nash

It is a noble goal indeed.

I was told by a doctor that there is a test for aspergers, but the healthcare service will not pay for me to have it unless I'm a danger to society (yes, that's what they said!)

they told me it has about 600 questions. Why don't you find the questions and share them with us/the world?

It kinda sucks that this stuff is out there, but for the sake of money, its being hidden from the people who need it. But then, that's how the world works I guess. It's just for the first time in human history we have an opportunity to do something about it - because for the first time knowledge can be shared so cheaply that its frankly insulting to me that my own government will not share with me the information I need to be healthy.

Tracking eye movements would be my best guess, when presenting faces or bodies as stimuli

Yes Jerry, I would have to agree. Money governs it all! Even if I get my hand on the 600 questions, I'll be hunted down for intellectual property rights and what not.

Petered, thanks for the feedback. Eye movement tracking is sophisticated but still under development. Such app would be very expensive to produce. I am resorting to other tests that can involve the child such as drawing, observation, certain body positions...etc. I have already produce a miniature prototype. But cannot find a specialist to help as a feeder to the system.