Assisted Behavior Control with Wearable Devices: A Case Study for High-Functioning Autism

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the efficacy of wearable and mobile systems to assist people with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) in their emotional self-regulation learning process compared to the proven efficacy of this technology with individuals with autism in the low functioning area of the spectrum. For that purpose, we carry out an experiment with a smartwatch system (Taimun-Watch) that had been tested previously with individuals in the low-functioning range. This experiment involves two (N = 2) individuals with HFA and we compare their performance to the obtained in the prior experiment by monitoring their activity and observing their behavior during 7 and 9 labor days, respectively. The results evidence that, although it takes more time to find and customize effective self-regulation strategies in comparison to the low-functioning autism individuals due to their sharper, more complex cognitive abilities and perception, they were able to use the system to recover from stress episodes as well using the system and tolerated suitably the devices in their daily activity.