On Wednesday 28 Jan 2009, reporting for National Public Radio (US) news, Jon Hamilton covered Simon Baron-Cohen’s recent entry into the market of products for individuals with Autism. Professor Baron-Cohen is affiliated with the department of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge (UK). In the ’90s he conducted studies about the popular idea of theory of mind in Autism. He also is affiliated with the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, a view that normal human development varies from Autistic to, well, to something. And he suggested that Autism is a special case he refers to as “systemizing ability.”
In his story, Mr. Hamilton reported this:
British researchers have found a way to use the fascination many autistic children have with trucks and trains to teach them about human emotions.
Children with autism often have trouble telling a happy face from a sad one. That’s partly because they tend to avoid looking at faces, says researcher Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge in the U.K.
>>snip< <
A study found that children who watched the DVD for at least 15 minutes a day for a month became much more adept at recognizing facial expressions and the emotions behind them.
I’m encouraged by this finding, but not convinced. This is an individual study. The videos are cute (I got the press package, too), but I think we need replications and extensions. I keep thinking about the initial enthusiasm about the gradual extension of auditory perception reported by Paula Menyuck and associates in the 90s. Could this be the same?
Link to Mr. Hamilton’s “DVD Helps Kids With Autism Read Faces, Emotions.”
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