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Task Dependency When Evaluating Association Between Facial Emotion Recognition and Facial Emotion Expression in Children with ASD

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Abstract

The impact of facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits on facial emotion expression (FEE) during interaction with a novel computerized system was investigated in children with ASD (n = 20), in comparison to typically developing (TD) peers (n = 20). Although there was not clear evidence of impaired FEE, children with ASD showed more atypical FEE. In children with ASD, better FER predicted better FEE when the participants were asked to express a labeled emotion (t(18) = − 2.75, p = .01, d = 1.24). The stronger relationship between FER and FEE in children with ASD, relative to controls, suggests that intervention targeting social communication deficits might have maximal effect when both processes are considered.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by a Grant from NICHD (R03HD081070; Co-PIs Abbott & White).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Andrea Trubanova Wieckowski & Deanna M. Swain

  2. Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    A. Lynn Abbott

  3. Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401, USA

    Susan W. White

Authors
  1. Andrea Trubanova Wieckowski
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  2. Deanna M. Swain
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  3. A. Lynn Abbott
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  4. Susan W. White
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Contributions

ATW participated in the Collected data, performed data analysis and drafted the manuscript. DMS participated in the Collected data, performed data analysis and contributed to writing of the manuscript. ALA Contributed to planning and design of the study and revision of the manuscript. SWW Conceived the study, designed the study, contributed to writing of the draft and revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea Trubanova Wieckowski.

Additional information

This study was conducted at Virginia Tech.

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Wieckowski, A.T., Swain, D.M., Abbott, A.L. et al. Task Dependency When Evaluating Association Between Facial Emotion Recognition and Facial Emotion Expression in Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 460–467 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3712-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3712-9

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