GOOGLE GLASS for Educators
Technology Emotion Dector
App for Autism Provides Independence at School
Voice Analyzer
Stanford University Research on Emotion Detection and Visual Cues
Facts About Autism in Canada
Autism is on the rise.
Autism now affects 1 in 68 children.
Boys were almost 5 times more likely to be identified with ASD than girls. About 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls were identified with ASD.
This new estimate is roughly 30% higher than the estimate for 2008 (1 in 88), roughly 60% higher than the estimate for 2006 (1 in 110), and roughly 120% higher than the estimates for 2002 and 2000 (1 in 150).
Most children identified with ASD were not diagnosed until after age 4, even though children can be diagnosed as early as age 2.
There is no known cure for autism.
References:
Metz, C. 13 Aug 13. Wired. Teenager Tackles Autism with Help From Google Glass. Retrieved:
http://www.wired.com/2013/08/catalin-voss/
Littlefield, A. 27 Feb 2013. The George Center for Music Therapy, Inc. Google Glass: Google Glass: Applications for Music Therapy and Special Needs. Retrieved: http://www.thegeorgecenter.com/2013/02/27/google-glass-applications-for-music-therapy-and-special-needs/
Temple, J. 24 August, 2013. San Franciso Chronicle. Google Glass app being designed to read emotions: Feelings tool may transform digital-human interactions. Retrieved: http://www.sfchronicle.com/technology/dotcommentary/article/Google-Glass-app-being-designed-to-read-emotions-4758728.php?t=46ca6ddb472fbce697#/0
Office of Communications and Public Liaison. 16 Apr 2014. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Autism Fact Sheet
Retrieved: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm#259203082
Several organizations are in the process of developing applications that will allow Google Glass to help people with a variety of communication issues arising from Autism, speech and language difficulties, and hearing loss. This page will deal mainly with the applications that apply to Autism.
Autism is a developmental disorder of the brain. It is present at birth but often is not properly diagnosed until the child is about to begin school. The cause is unknown.
Autism is a spectrum. The most severe children may have no speech and have little interaction with others, while the mildest cases, often referred to as Asperger's Syndrome (AS), will often have delayed verbal skills, and will interact with difficulty. They often seem to be the child who just doesn't quite seem to fit in. Many children with AS prefer to be alone and work independently.
Google Glass and Special Needs
The autistic child has great difficulty understanding body language and the fine nuances exhibited in changes to facial expression. This is why they have difficulty communicating and reading social cues.
In the past doctors thought that children with autism could not feel empathy. New studies suggest that the opposite may be true. New studies found that the reason children with autism act out in some circumstances may be because they feel too much empathy. They have no filters and are unable to control the bombardment of sensations that are being fed to their brain. This results in them either retreating from a situation or acting inappropriately.
To help with becoming independent one developer is working on an app that will help the autistic student perform many of the daily activities most people take for granted.
One of the keystones of Autism is an impairment in social behaviour. Difficulty understanding body language, voice intonations and expressions make it hard for an autistic person to interact with others.
An autistic person is unlikely to look another person in the eyes when they speak with them. This makes it difficult to read facial cues. Also, they may have a hard time controlling the volume and tone of their voice. This can lead to uncomfortable midunderstandings. This developer is working on this aspect of autism with his voice analyzer software.
My Monitor
Source: Autism Speaksâ„¢ Canada
Source: Planet Autism Blog
Researchers at Stanford University are working on several aspects of Emotion Detection and Visual Cues for Autistic people. They are looking at
eyetracking patterns. They have found that how an autistic person looks at another person's face is quite different when compared with a person without autism. They are able to provide feedback to the autistic person regarding emotions they may not be reading properly, thereby enabling them to respond to social cues more appropriately.