Novel Communication Aid to Help Reduce Cognitive Load for Autistic Persons

Koronis Biomedical Technologies Corporat, Maple Grove MN

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract In this Phase I SBIR project, Koronis Biomedical Technologies Corporation (KBT) proposes to develop a classroom communication aid for students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Children with ASD often have problems processing auditory information in conjunction with sensory hyper-sensitivity (negative reactions to low-level environmental stimuli generally considered to be innocuous). These disturbances can manifest as hyper-sensitivity to normal classroom sounds and difficulty with concentrating on and processing of verbal communication from the teacher. Studies of auditory processing and perception in ASD show a pattern of results where difficulties appear as the complexity of the auditory information increases. Many students with ASD tend to be visual learners and could benefit from a visual communication/instructional approach whereby adding visual support to the auditory component of instruction would greatly aid the visual learner process audio content more easily. The proposed system includes a set of earbuds (or headphones) used to both reduce background noise and provide a direct audio feed from the teacher and a text display (smartphone or tablet) that provides a real-time closed caption of the teacher's audio feed.