The Use of a Kinect-Based Technology to Enhance Sensory-Motor Skills in Children with Autism

Background:  Current estimates indicate that 80% of children diagnosed with autism present sensory processing problems. These problems refer to all sensory systems, including tactile, auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory and also vestibular and proprioceptive. The last two systems along with input from the visual system, play a crucial role in many areas of development, mostly in sensory-motor development (Baranek, 2002). The most known interventions in this area include sensory integration therapy (Ayres, 1972; 1979), traditional occupational therapy and physical exercise. These interventions require trained personnel (e.g. occupational therapists) and specialized equipment. As a result, they cannot be delivered by classroom teachers. Another medium recently started used for dealing with the same matters is technology. Platforms like Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect allow full body input and they enable physical and sensory stimuli. 

Objectives:  The objective of this study was to investigate whether a new, free and easily implemented kinect-based technology called Pictogram Room can contribute to the development of children’s with autism sensory-motor skills as observed in three school settings (i.e. physical education, classroom and playground). 

Methods:  Pictogram Room uses augmented reality to help children with autism to develop a range of skills, creating a virtual space with highly customizable educational activities. Through the recognition of movement, it is possible to reproduce the image of the player himself/herself augmenting with a series of graphic and musical elements that guide the learning process. A matched control group design was followed with 5 children (all males, M_age=5.4 years) in the intervention and 5 children (4 males and 1 female, M_age=5.2 years) in the control group. The children completed a set of 20 sessions in total working on Pictogram Room (2 familiarization sessions and 18 sessions delivered twice a week for a period of 9 weeks) in a mainstream school with autism units in the UK. Pre and post intervention the children’s teachers completed the Balance, Body Awareness and Planning (BBAP) checklist, developed by the researcher, to monitor potential changes in the targeted skills. 

Results:  Following intervention there was a significant difference between the two groups’ sensory-motor skills in physical education (intervention group: M=104.4, SD=5.9; control group: M=93.2, SD=6.98; t(4)=7.6, p=0.0016; Cohen’s d=1.7). In the classroom environment the difference between the two groups was close to being significant but with large effect size (intervention group: M=74.8, SD=6.94; control group: M=69, SD=6.75; t(4)=2.4, p=0.0694; Cohen’s d=0.8). Finally, in playground, the difference in sensory-motor skills development between the two groups was not significant (intervention group: M=60.8, SD=5.63; control group: M=58.2, SD=4.55; t(4)=1.35, p=0.2457; Cohen’s d=0.5). 

Conclusions:  This study suggests that teachers can use Pictogram Room as an effective way to support students’ with autism sensory-motor skills. However, more research is needed, with larger samples, as well as using different methods with which greater generalization of skills can be achieved. It does not cut off the need for professional support like occupational therapy but it is a tool that teachers can easily use in the classroom and incorporate it with curriculum goals.