by Laura Tarantino, Margherita Attanasio, Marco Valenti, and Monica Mazza
This paper presents a vision of ICT-based personalized continuous integrated ASD care services that support not only ASD treatment but also all the involved stakeholders, such as professionals, families, caregivers, and social networks. The paper argues that the adoption of Digital Twin as a unifying conceptual tool and its integration with Artificial Intelligence, and VR/AR technologies would be able to boost the achievement of such an ambitious goal.
Introduction
The paper introduces the problem of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), which affect a significant and increasing number of people worldwide and pose a heavy demand on families and on educational, social, and medical services. The paper reviews the potential benefits of ICT-based approaches in ASD treatment, such as the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in assistive and cognitive rehabilitation tools. The paper also highlights the limitations of existing solutions, which are often fragmented, isolated, and not tailored to the individual needs and contexts of ASD persons and their caregivers. The paper proposes a holistic vision of ICT-based personalized continuous integrated ASD care services that address the challenges of ASD care from a Socio-Technical (ST) perspective.
Digital Twin for ASD care
The paper defines Digital Twin as a digital representation of a physical entity or system that mirrors its characteristics, behaviors, and interactions in real time. The paper discusses how Digital Twin can be applied to ASD care, by creating a digital replica of the ASD person and their environment, which can be used for testing, rehabilitation, prediction, and crisis management. The paper also explains how Digital Twin can be enriched and updated by using Artificial Intelligence techniques, such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and affective computing. The paper also illustrates how Digital Twin can be integrated with VR/AR technologies, which can provide immersive and interactive experiences for ASD persons and their caregivers.
Scenarios and benefits
The paper presents four scenarios that exemplify the possible benefits of using Digital Twin for ASD care:
- Testing: Digital Twin can be used to simulate and evaluate the effects of different interventions and treatments on the ASD person, such as medication, behavioral therapy, or environmental modifications.
- Rehabilitation: Digital Twin can be used to provide personalized and adaptive rehabilitation programs for the ASD person, by using VR/AR to create realistic and engaging scenarios that stimulate their cognitive and social skills.
- Prediction: Digital Twin can be used to anticipate and prevent potential crises or adverse events for the ASD person, by using AI to analyze their physiological and emotional states and to suggest appropriate actions or alerts.
- Crisis management: Digital Twin can be used to support the ASD person and their caregivers during a crisis situation, by using VR/AR to create calming and soothing environments or to provide guidance and instructions.
Conclusion
The paper concludes by summarizing the main contributions and challenges of the proposed vision of ICT-based personalized continuous integrated ASD care services based on Digital Twin. The paper also outlines some future research directions, such as the ethical, legal, and social implications of using Digital Twin for ASD care, the evaluation of the effectiveness and usability of the proposed solutions, and the involvement of the ASD community in the design and development of the system.
FAQ
Q1: What is the main goal of the paper?
A: The paper aims to present the challenges and opportunities of using ICT-based approaches, such as Digital Twin, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual/Augmented Reality, to support the continuous and personalized care of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and their families, caregivers, and social networks.
Q2: What is a Digital Twin?
A: A Digital Twin is a digital representation of a real-world entity or system that can be used to simulate, monitor, and optimize its behaviour and performance.
Q3: How can Digital Twin help people with ASDs?
A: Digital Twin can help people with ASDs by providing a virtual environment where they can interact with their caregivers, therapists, and peers, and practice social skills, communication, and emotional regulation. Digital Twin can also collect and analyze data from various sources, such as sensors, wearables, and smart devices, to provide personalized feedback and recommendations.
Q4: What are the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence for ASD care?
A: Artificial Intelligence can help improve the diagnosis, assessment, and intervention of ASDs by using machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and speech recognition techniques. Artificial Intelligence can also enable adaptive and intelligent tutoring systems, chatbots, and social robots that can assist people with ASDs in learning and socializing.
Q5: What are the advantages of using Virtual/Augmented Reality for ASD care?
A: Virtual/Augmented Reality can create immersive and realistic scenarios that can enhance the motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes of people with ASDs1. Virtual/Augmented Reality can also provide a safe and controlled environment where people with ASDs can practice and generalize skills that are difficult to acquire in the real world, such as eye contact, facial expressions, and body language.
Q6: What are the main challenges of using ICT-based approaches for ASD care?
A: The paper identifies four main challenges of using ICT-based approaches for ASD care:
- Ethical, legal, and social issues, such as data privacy, security, consent, and trust.
- Technical issues, such as interoperability, scalability, reliability, and usability.
- Organizational issues, such as integration, collaboration, and coordination among different stakeholders and services.
- Human issues, such as acceptance, adoption, and satisfaction of the users and the professionals.
Q7: What are the future directions of the paper?
A: The paper proposes a research agenda to address the challenges and opportunities of using ICT-based approaches for ASD care. The paper suggests to:
- Conduct user-centred design and evaluation studies to understand the needs, preferences, and expectations of the users and the professionals.
- Develop and test innovative ICT solutions that can provide effective, efficient, and engaging ASD care services.
- Establish and promote ethical, legal, and social guidelines and standards for the development and use of ICT solutions for ASD care.
- Foster and facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration and communication among researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and industry partners.
Source: