Diversity and Complexity of Hand Movement for Autism Spectrum Disorder Intervention

Abstract

Flexibility and adaptability described in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) refer to Stereotypical Motor Movements (SMM) and social interaction deficits, both of which are important symptoms of ASD. Inspired by the most recent psychological research by Jonge-Hoekstra, this paper aims to distinguish hand movement with two quantitative metrics extracted by the mid-layer of a supervised convolutional gesture recognition network, named diversity and complexity. Particularly, diversity indicates adaptability and complexity indicates flexibility. The utilisation of both metrics shows great potential for hand movement analysis with a particular emphasis on ASD intervention.