Erfassung sensorischer Fähigkeiten bei Kindern mit Autismus mittels Touchscreen und Berührungssensoren

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder with an average prevalence of less than one percent. It is characterized by impairments in social, communication and behavioral skills. Many countries prioritize autism research in order to better understand the causes and mechanisms of this disorder and to develop more specific and causal treatments compared to the dominating symptomatic approach of behavior modification. An emerging line of research that attempts to reveal underlying mechanisms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) studies differences in sensory processing in individuals with ASD. In this work we introduce new methods to measure proprioceptive functions of children with ASD. The instruments use low-cost Arduino boards and shields to acquire data from force and touch sensors. The received data is transferred to mobile devices and analyzed with a cross-platform software application. The instruments were pilot tested with typically developing children to test for functionality and usability of the instruments. Furthermode they were tested with known measures to show the accuracy an robustness oft he develeoped system. In the future, they will be used in a larger study with children with ASD.