Assessment of Children with Autism Based on Computer Games Compared with PEP Scale

Abstract

Assessment is an important prerequisite for the intervention of children with autism. The traditional approach has a high dependence on the assessor's expertise and experience, and is susceptible to some subjective factors. Due to the lack of experienced assessors, it is necessary to investigate alternatives to assess the children with autism properly. Computer games have great potentials for assessment of children with autism, which provide objective results by collecting and analyzing the game data. However, the validity and reliability of assessment based on computer games still need to be investigated further. The comparative studies are carried out in this paper. Four assessment functions in the PEP (Psycho-Educational Profile) scale, such as perception, fine motor, hand eye coordination and cognitive performance, are compared with the computer games. The results indicate that the assessment based on computer games can correctly reflect the assessment results of traditional PEP scale. Statistical analysis confirms that these two methods are well consistent. Moreover, the assessment based on computer games can provide more quantitative indicators of the capacity of children with autism.