Facial Expression Computer Interaction System for Children with Asperger's Syndrome

People with Autism Spectrum Disorders, particularly Asperger's Syndrome, have
a set of symptoms, such as difficulty processing emotive facial expressions and making
less eye contact, that affect the individual's social interactions. The prototype developed
is geared to help children with Asperger's Syndrome recognize facial expressions,
improve eye contact, and to reinforce connections between facial and verbal components
of expressions. This application utilizes a computer generated human head, an avatar, to
interact with the children while displaying various emotions and using games to increase
the children's eye contact. The unique properties of the avatar utilized allow for a
comprehensive coverage of the children's attention spectrum to maximize their learning
potential. Knowing that about 17% of Autism Spectrum Disorders belong to the
Asperger's Syndrome subclass, the positive impact of this application on their life would
be of great importance for their families and the community.