A recent study found that individuals with autism express their feelings like anyone else, but their face expressions are very accurate and cannot be discovered with the naked eye. The results of the study are an important step towards understanding social communication among individuals with better autism, which contributes to enhancing their integration into society.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Rutgers in the United Kingdom, and published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychiatry” on April 7, and was written about the Yorik Alert website.
This research is considered a qualitative shift in understanding autism, as it can change the misconceptions of autism, by providing new methods to discover the exact facial expressions of autistic people, which contributes to improving social interaction and providing appropriate emotional support for their needs.
What is autism?
Autism Special Disorders is somewhat difficult to interact and communicate. Other features include unconventional patterns of activities and behaviors, such as the difficulty of moving from one activity to another, focusing on details, and unusual reactions towards sensations, according to the World Health Organization.
Micro -movements reveal a lot
The researchers studied the interactions of the participants using a new type of data developed by the research team known as “Micromovement Spikes”, a method that captures microscopic facial movements using statistical techniques. The researchers follow the microscopic movements of the face by recording short videos (from 5 to 6 seconds) using smartphones or tablets.
The research team developed an application that guides the participants in 4 stages: training in video recording, facial photography in a state of rest, then during smile, then when showing surprise. The data were collected in multiple environments, which included schools, places of treatment, and during social events, and some participants sent their records from their homes.
The study included 126 participants, including 55 people who use writing for communication as they do not speak. The results showed that although there are differences in the exact movements of the face between people with autism and healthy people, the facial muscles responsible for the emotional expression were active in both groups. The researchers pointed out that the main difference was in the severity of these expressions.
Researcher Elizabeth Torres, a professor of psychology at the University of Rutgers, and the researcher participating in this study, indicates that: “Individuals with autism use the same basic facial movements to express feelings, but their intensity often falls outside the ordinary range that most people recognize. Which leads others to overlook their feelings or interpret them wrongly.”