Iterative Design of a System to Support Diagnostic Assessments for Autism Using Home Videos

Direct observation remains a gold standard practice in diagnosing ASD. While clinical professionals acknowledge that observing behavior in the natural environment is crucial to obtain an accurate and comprehensive assessment, such observation is currently not feasible to implement into clinical practice on a large scale.

The present goal is to iteratively design a system that will enable parents to record video examples of their child’s behavior in the home under the guidance of a clinician, and share these recordings with the clinician for the purpose of diagnostic assessment for autism. Families of children ages 3- 6 years with an autism spectrum diagnosis tested a prototype of such a system and were interviewed about their experiences with it. Additionally in a second study, clinicians rated the utility of the videos taken by the families for the purpose of diagnostic assessment.