Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder with neurogenetic origins characterized by vast heterogeneity in, and diagnosed using, behavioral phenotypes in three core domains: verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions including expressive and receptive aspects of emotional behavior, and behavioral inflexibility (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, DSM Manual IV).

Our goal is to develop, implement and validate engineering methods and tools for capturing, interpreting, and supporting interventions related to communicative and affective social behavior in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Not only do engineering technologies promise quantitative understanding of the complex human behavior in its vast individual and contextual heterogeneity, but enable us supporting behavioral interventions in real, day-to-day life settings. Imagine empowering researchers and clinicians with tools that can support a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of behavior that is reflective of natural life scenarios. Imagine the ability to provide personalized, just in time, contextualized behavioral support for a child in a pre-school setting or an adolescent in a social interaction setting with interfaces that are personalized to the needs of the individual.

Projects:

Computational Behavioral Science: Modeling, Analysis, and Visualization of Social and Communicative Behavior
National Science Foundation: Expeditions in Computing
Collaboration between GeorgiaTech, MIT, CMU, BU, UIUC and USC

Technologies for understanding facilitating social interactions in children with Autism
Sponsor: Marino Autism Research Institute

Robotics and Speech Processing Technology for the Facilitation of Social Communication Training in Children with Autism
Sponsors: National Science Foundation, Autism Speaks