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Automated Detection of Repetitive Motor Behaviors as an Outcome Measurement in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Abstract

Repetitive sensory motor behaviors are a direct target for clinical treatment and a potential treatment endpoint for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. By removing the burden associated with video annotation or direct observation, automated detection of stereotypy would allow for longer term monitoring in ecologic settings. We report automated detection of common stereotypical motor movements using commercially available accelerometers affixed to the body and a generalizable detection algorithm. The method achieved a sensitivity of 80% for body rocking and 93% for hand flapping without individualized algorithm training or foreknowledge of subject’s specific movements. This approach is well-suited for implementation in a continuous monitoring system outside of a clinical setting.

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Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through Grant Award Number UL1TR001111 to the NC TraCS Institute, UNC’s NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Author Contributions

KHG and MHC contributed to analysis of sensor data, algorithm development, and preparation of the manuscript. RBC contributed to study conceptualization and design, participant recruitment, behavior annotation, and preparation of the manuscript. SG contributed to study conceptualization and design, sensor selection and preparation of the manuscript. ACK contributed to participant recruitment, performed the data collection sessions, and contributed to preparation of the manuscript. ACW contributed to study conceptualization and design, provided supervision for all data collection, and contributed to preparation of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kristin H. Gilchrist.

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All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Gilchrist, K.H., Hegarty-Craver, M., Christian, R.B. et al. Automated Detection of Repetitive Motor Behaviors as an Outcome Measurement in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 1458–1466 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3408-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3408-6

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