Abstract
The aim of this systematic review is to identify recent digital technologies used to detect early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool children (i.e., up to six years of age). A systematic literature search was performed for English language articles and conference papers indexed in Pubmed, PsycInfo, ERIC, CINAHL, WoS, IEEE, and ACM digital libraries up until January 2020. A follow-up search was conducted to cover the literature published until December 2020 for the usefulness and interest in this area of research during the Covid-19 emergency. In total, 2427 articles were initially retrieved from databases search. Additional 481 articles were retrieved from follow-up search. Finally, 28 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The studies included involved four main interface modalities: Natural User Interface (e.g., eye trackers), PC or mobile, Wearable, and Robotics. Most of the papers included (n = 20) involved the use of Level 1 screening tools. Notwithstanding the variability of the solutions identified, psychometric information points to considering available technologies as promising supports in clinical practice to detect early sign of ASD in young children. Further research is needed to understand the acceptability and increase use rates of technology-based screenings in clinical settings.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a category of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities [1]
This paper is aimed at providing a picture of the different technology-based solutions to screen for ASD reported in the literature since 2010
Search terms related to children, ASD, information technology and screening were used, and the search queries conducted with each database are listed in Appendix A
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a category of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities [1]. The care and social needs of preschool children with ASD (typically up to six years of age), in particular, are significant [2,3], usually extend to parents and siblings [2,4,5], and require substantial community resources [2,6,7]. In response to these needs, early detection of ASD has become a priority for primary care and other community settings [8] to provide early intervention services and to improve outcomes [2,9].
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