VESTAL, N.Y., March 20 (UPI) -- Using new technology, Binghamton University researchers are hoping to help children with autism spectrum disorders deal with their social and life skills.
Raymond Romancyzk, director of Binghamton University's Institute for Child Development, is heading an intensive research project to learn how children -- with and without autism -- interact with the world around them.
Using a combination of a state-of-the-art eye tracking system, miniaturized psychophysiological monitoring and multiple computers for high-speed processing, Romancyzk and his team are learning how people with autism process information and stimuli.
"Part of the reason for this elaborate scheme is we've also been doing some research on how adults interact with children with autism, how they perceive what they think is going on versus what the child is actually doing," said Romancyzk.
"This ties into the subtleties of social interaction that we take for granted," he added. "You look at someone and you can tell by their body posture, their gestures, tone of voice, eye gaze and so on, what's being communicated. With children with autism, it's more difficult to do."
