Novel Data Capture and Assessment Technology for Autism

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We will develop and evaluate a tool designed to support the collection of rich data for performing a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) in schools to support the development of intervention plans for children with special needs, specifically children with autism (CWA). The proposed archiving system will permit educators to record only those data or behaviors judged to be important for later retrieval and review. The "experience buffers" described provide an alternative for recording that is a trade-off between cryptic note-taking that may not capture critical information and 100% recording that is time-consuming because of the need to review a mass of information to locate the required critical data. In phase I, we will modify our preliminary system for use in a school environment with the aid of advice from focus groups, explore the potential privacy/legal hurdles, assess feasibility in a small pilot study, and verify the results. In phase II, we will evaluate the system in a more rigorous manner, applying it to the study of a large CWA population and comparing outcomes using a more traditional method of record-keeping. The commercial potential of our system is high given the large and increasing incidence of autism that is treated both in the home and in school environments. Beyond that, successful demonstration in the CWA population should make this system attractive in other applications that depend on in-depth analysis by educators.