Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Intervention in Improving Emotion Recognition Through Facial Expression in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The use of technology in intervention is not uncommon for improving emotion recognition of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of technology-based interventions in emotion recognition in people with ASD. After searching six electronic databases, 15 studies published from 2000 to 2016 were yielded and reviewed. Eight technology-based interventions for improving emotion recognition skills in people with ASD were identified. Overall, this review provides preliminary evidence that the use of technology-based intervention with coach support and emphasis on facial features can improve emotion recognition in children and adolescents with ASD. Factors which need to be considered in order to confirm the effectiveness of various intervention programs were discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) (DSM-V). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bal, E., Harden, E., Lamb, D., Van Hecke, A. V., Denver, J. W., & Porges, S. W. (2010). Emotion recognition in children with autism spectrum disorders: relations to eye gaze and autonomic state. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(3), 358–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., & Jolliffe, T. (1997). Is there a “language of the eyes”? Evidence from normal adults, and adults with autism or Asperger syndrome. Visual Cognition, 4, 311–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “reading the mind in the eyes” test revised version: a study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00715.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S., Feineis-Matthews, S., Leber, S., Dierks, T., Hubl, D., & Poustka, F. (2002). The development and evaluation of a computer-based program to test and to teach the recognition of facial affect. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 61(Suppl 2), 61–68.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Busso, C., Deng, Z., Yildirim, S., Bulut, M., Lee, C. M., Kazemzadeh, A., … & Narayanan, S. (2004). Analysis of emotion recognition using facial expressions, speech and multimodal information. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces, 205–211.

  • Calder, A. J., Young, A. W., Keane, J., & Dean, M. (2000). Configural information in facial expression perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26(2), 527–551.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corden, B., Chilvers, R., & Skuse, D. (2008). Avoidance of emotionally arousing stimuli predicts social–perceptual impairment in Asperger’s syndrome. Neuropsychologia, 46(1), 137–147.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, K. M., Nacewicz, B. M., Johnstone, T., Schaefer, H. S., Gernsbacher, M. A., Goldsmith, H. H., et al. (2005). Gaze fixation and the neural circuitry of face processing in autism. Nature Neuroscience, 8(4), 519–526.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Golan, O., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2006). Systemizing empathy: teaching adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism to recognize complex emotions using interactive multimedia. Development and Psychopathology, 18(2), 591–617.

  • Golan, O., LaCava, P. G., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2007). Assistive technology as an aid in reducing social impairments in autism. Growing up with autism: working with school-age children and adolescents, 124–142.

  • Golan, O., Ashwin, E., Granader, Y., McClintock, S., Day, K., Leggett, V., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Enhancing emotion recognition in children with autism spectrum conditions: an intervention using animated vehicles with real emotional faces. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(3), 269–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, T. R., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2004). Use of technology in interventions for children with autism. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 1(2), 166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harms, M., Martin, A., & Wallace, G. (2010). Facial emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders: a review of behavioral and neuroimaging studies. Neuropsychology Review, 20(3), 290–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-010-9138-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez, N., Metzger, A., Magné, R., Bonnet-Brilhault, F., Roux, S., Barthelemy, C., & Martineau, J. (2009). Exploration of core features of a human face by healthy and autistic adults analyzed by visual scanning. Neuropsychologia, 47(4), 1004–1012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, I. M., Gower, M. W., Perez, T. A., Smith, D. S., Amthor, F. R., Wimsatt, F. C., & Biasini, F. J. (2011). Avatar assistant: improving social skills in students with an ASD through a computer-based intervention. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(11), 1543–1555.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., & Volkmar, F. (2003). The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: lessons from autism. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 358(1430), 345–360.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kouo, J. L., & Egel, A. L. (2016). The effectiveness of interventions in teaching emotion recognition to children with autism spectrum disorder. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 3, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kylliäinen, A., & Hietanen, J. K. (2006). Skin conductance responses to another person’s gaze in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(4), 517–525.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lacava, P. G., Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., & Myles, B. S. (2007). Using assistive technology to teach emotion recognition to students with Asperger syndrome a pilot study. Remedial and Special Education, 28(3), 174–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaCava, P. G., Rankin, A., Mahlios, E., Cook, K., & Simpson, R. L. (2010). A single case design evaluation of a software and tutor intervention addressing emotion recognition and social interaction in four boys with ASD. Autism, 14, 161–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, I.-J., Chen, C.-H., & Lin, L.-Y. (2016). Applied Cliplets-based half-dynamic videos as intervention learning materials to attract the attention of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder to improve their perceptions and judgments of the facial expressions and emotions of others. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1211.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, L., Hickman, R., Harris, S., & Heriza, C. (2008). Single-subject research designs: recommendations for levels of evidence and quality rating. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 50, 99–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHugh, L., Bobarnac, A., & Reed, P. (2011). Brief report: teaching situation-based emotions to children with autistic spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(10), 1423–1428.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moseley, A. M., Herbert, R. D., Sherrington, C., & Maher, C. G. (2002). Evidence for physiotherapy practice: a survey of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). The Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 48(1), 43–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pelphrey, K. A., Sasson, N. J., Reznick, J. S., Paul, G., Goldman, B. D., & Piven, J. (2002). Visual scanning of faces in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32(4), 249–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, L. M., Wall, C. A., Fogel, A., & Shic, F. (2015). Computer-assisted face processing instruction improves emotion recognition, mentalizing, and social skills in students with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(7), 2176–2186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russo-Ponsaran, N. M., Evans-Smith, B., Johnson, J., Russo, J., & McKown, C. (2016). Efficacy of a facial emotion training program for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 40(1), 13–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scambler, D. J., Hepburn, S., Rutherford, M. D., Wehner, E. A., & Rogers, S. J. (2007). Emotional responsivity in children with autism, children with other developmental disabilities, and children with typical development. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(3), 553–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0186-y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shipstead, Z., Hicks, K. L., & Engle, R. W. (2012). Working memory training remains a work in program. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 1(3), 217–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silver, M., & Oakes, P. (2001). Evaluation of a new computer intervention to teach people with autism or Asperger syndrome to recognize and predict emotions in others. Autism, 5(3), 299–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spezio, M. L., Adolphs, R., Hurley, R. S., & Piven, J. (2007). Abnormal use of facial information in high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(5), 929–939.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomeer, M. L., Smith, R. A., Lopata, C., Volker, M. A., Lipinski, A. M., Rodgers, J. D., et al. (2015). Randomized controlled trial of mind reading and in vivo rehearsal for high-functioning children with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(7), 2115–2127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J., Hirsch, S., Vogel-Farley, V., Redcay, E., & Nelson, C. (2013). Eye-tracking, autonomic, and electrophysiological correlates of emotional face processing in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 43(1), 188–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinger, P. M., & Depue, R. A. (2011). Remediation of deficits in recognition of facial emotions in children with autism spectrum disorders. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 33(1), 20–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, B. T., Gray, K. M., & Tonge, B. J. (2012). Teaching emotion recognition skills to young children with autism: a randomised controlled trial of an emotion training programme. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(12), 1268–1276.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young, R. L., & Posselt, M. (2012). Using the Transporters DVD as a learning tool for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(6), 984–991.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to our families that made our review paper possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

    Clara S. C. Lee, Stephen H. F. Lam, Sally T. K. Tsang, Cheong M. C. Yuen & Carmen K. M. Ng

Authors
  1. Clara S. C. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephen H. F. Lam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sally T. K. Tsang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cheong M. C. Yuen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Carmen K. M. Ng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clara S. C. Lee.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, C.S.C., Lam, S.H.F., Tsang, S.T.K. et al. The Effectiveness of Technology-Based Intervention in Improving Emotion Recognition Through Facial Expression in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review. Rev J Autism Dev Disord 5, 91–104 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-017-0125-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-017-0125-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation