Objectives: To test these explanatory models by directly comparing the effects of two computer-based face processing interventions for children with ASD: The Transporters (Golan et al., 2010) and Let’s Face It!(Tanaka et al., 2010).
Methods: Children aged 4 to 8 years (N = 21) were randomized to one of three conditions: The Transporters, Let’s Face It! and a no treatment control.Before-and-after 20 hours of intervention, children were assessed in ability to: (a) comprehend facial expressions by way of non-verbal intelligence, (b) interpret facial expressions by mediating through social context, (c) label emotions in faces, (d) recognize emotion constancy and (e) recognize featural and holistic configuration of faces.
Results: Compared to children randomized to a no treatment control group (n = 7), children receiving The Transporters training (n = 8) or Let’s Face It! program (n = 6) experienced no greater significant improvement. Verbal ability and age of participants were linked to performance on the facial understanding measures.
Conclusions: While findings in this exploratory study are limited due to small sample size, insignificant intervention effects suggest limitations in the social validity of The Transporters and Let’s Face It! interventions. Anecdotally, parents of children receiving The Transporters and Let’s Face It! interventions were overall very pleased with the experience. Almost all parents reported their children to have improved in face viewing behaviour and understanding.