New Autism Research App Launched
October 15, 2015
A free iOS app to learn more about autism in young children, developed by researchers and software developers from Duke University and the Duke Medical Center, is now available from the Apple App Store.
Autism & Beyond is a further development related to the work of the Bass Connections project team Information, Child Mental Health and Society, led by Helen Egger and Guillermo Sapiro with graduate and undergraduate students at Duke.
The app invites parents and young children to take part in a study. First, the child watches four short videos while the iPhone camera records the child’s reactions. Next, the parent is asked to complete short surveys. Finally, the parent can upload the whole recording or just the face features.
Not a diagnostic tool, the app is intended to test the reliability of smartphone questionnaires and video analysis of facial expressions as a possible screening tool for autism and other developmental disorders.
The developers hope the technology may one day be used to screen young children in their homes for autism and mental health challenges.
To learn more, visit the Autism & Beyond website, read the story on Duke Today and see Apple’s press release on its ResearchKit partnership with Duke.