Introduction

1. Teaching Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Intelligent Animated Characters Sponsored by The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities Schwartz, S. and White, E. University of Colorado-Boulder Boulder Valley School District Corson, L. and Thompson, K. University of Colorado-Boulder Introduction A two-month pilot project was conducted to assess the feasibility and applicability of using intelligent animated characters to teach vocabulary and concepts to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The computer-based learning tools incorporate speech recognition, speech generation and facial animation technologies embedded in a sequenced teaching paradigm. Researchers, software developers, autism specialists, teachers, parents and children with ASD all contributed to this pilot project. • Reading the Graphs • Each graph contains information about the same material taught to the same child over different sessions. • Of interest: • Within same session, scores on post test indicates learning within one session. • From one session to the next, pretest scores indicate retention of information over time. • Horizontal skills (basic vocabulary) were more quickly learned and generalized than vertical (new concepts) skills. The Participants Age DxFocus of Sessions P1 3;6 Autism Mouse control Attention to Task P2 4;1 Autism Counting Word ID P3 5;7 Asperger Egypt Clocks P4 10;2 Bipolar Using toolkit Asperger Programming P5 12;6 PDD-NOS Maps More than/less than P6 13;0 PDD-NOS Pronouns Maps Articulation “Basic Vocabulary” Results The Programs Baldi “Baldi” is an intelligent animated character who guides students through individualized vocabulary tutors. His visible speech production is highly accurate and his facial features can be manipulated to change his emotions, coloring and remove his skin, teeth, lips, etc. Baldi’s mouth movements can also be aligned to live recorded speech. • Procedure • Children were seen by a research associate twice a week for 8 weeks at CSLR. • Number and sequence of tutors per session was individually determined and adaptable. • Content of tutor was determined by parent request, child’s interests or needs and upcoming curriculum in school. • TEACCH principles such as picture and written schedules, timers and scheduled reinforcers were used to help keep the children focused and productive. • Reinforcers included playing with Baldi, doing a favorite tutor, playing KidPix and sometimes, food items The Vocabulary Tutor The vocabulary tutors are easy to develop, easy to use and easy to individualize for a specific student or curriculum. Pictures are downloaded from scanners, websites or other programs and specific vocabulary is defined. A default text script is already present or can be modified to better fit the content of the tutor or the student. • Quantitative Results • Within one session, 5 of the 6 children were able to work on the vocabulary tutor independently. • Over 200 tutors were developed during this project. • In approximately 20-25% of the tutors developed, the children scored 100% on the first pretest. We underestimated their abilities. “New Concept” Tutor Results Data: All system data and user responses are automatically logged as the student proceeds through the tutor. This data is then accessible in an easily readable format. • Discussion • The vocabulary tutor is an effective teaching tool with an engaging, sequenced teaching paradigm. • Mouse skills are the minimum requirement for a child to use the tutors. • Basic primer vocabulary to high level technical info can be taught with the tutor. • Teaching the recognition of emotions in others (core deficit in ASD) was difficult within current vocabulary tutor. • New uses (i.e. ESL) of the toolkit and use with different populations (i.e. other cognitive disabilities) should be explored. • Sequence of Presentation • Pretest: Baldi first assesses a child’s prior knowledge of the vocabulary to be taught or what they remember from the previous session. • Teaching: Baldi then teaches the child the relevant information. • Teaching with feedback: Baldi then assesses the students knowledge of the vocabulary and provides appropriate feedback. • Final Assessment: Baldi gives one final test to determine how much the child has remembered. • Outreach • Four computers with the Speech Toolkit, scanners and headphones have been placed in BVSD classrooms that include children with ASD. • Two computers have been put in homes and 3 other homes have had Speech Toolkits installed on their home computers. • More than 30 teachers, parents, related service providers and paraprofessionals as well as some 5th graders have attended a 3 hour training session at CSLR on how to use the vocabulary tutor. • Computers were placed on carts or in locations to insure that other children with cognitive disabilities including Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, Taybi-Rubenstien syndrome, as well as children with hearing impairments, can access them. • Qualitative Results • Parent report and observation indicated that the children were engaged by Baldi, talked about him at home and were eager to come to the sessions. • Teacher and parent report indicate that information learned in the summer program has generalized to the classroom. • Some children were able to respond correctly to tutors because they memorized the location of answers, not because they learned the concept. • Future Goals • Creating new teaching paradigms using animated characters to allow for teaching of “recognizing emotions in others.” • Using speech and language recognition capabilities to create more natural interactions with animated characters to model specific social interactions. • Creating web based bank of vocabulary tutors and curriculums for public access.