Autism is a disorder that typically begins in early childhood and lasts into adult life affecting communication and social skills. Autism can come in different severities and some people with high-functioning autism may not even seem that different from people not affected by the condition.  Bill Gates, for example, is autistic.

One of the main goals of therapists and parents that work with autism is to get the children to interact in a more normal way with peers and adults. This can be difficult not only because some autistic children cannot communicate verbally, but also because young peers of an autistic child do not understand autism well enough to exhibit the patience required for healthy development.

Researchers at the Northwestern University have developed a new method of teaching autistic children to communicate that involves what the researchers call virtual peers. According to Justine Cassell, professor of communication studies and electrical engineering for the university, the new method may work very well for treating and teaching autistic children. Cassell said in a statement, “Children with high-functioning autism may be able to give you a lecture on a topic of great interest to them but they can’t carry on a ‘contingent’ -- or two-way – conversation.”

Cassell and fellow researcher Andrea Tartaro worked with six autistic children aged 7 to 11 years and collected data from the participants while they engaged in an hour-long session with a real child without autism and with a virtual peer named Sam.

The researchers designed Sam to look about eight years old and to be gender ambiguous. Sam is projected onto a screen and appears as a life size child with a dollhouse featuring movable furniture and figurines.  The researchers found that autistic children produced more contingent sentences when they spoke with Sam as compared to a real child.

The researchers point out that they aren’t suggesting that autistic children should look first for virtual playmates. Tartaro said in a statement, “Certainly we’re not saying that virtual peers make the best playmates for children with autism. The overall goal is for the children with autism to generalize the skills they learn in practice sessions with virtual peers to meaningful interactions with real-world children.”

The virtual peer is good for helping autistic kids learn how to interact with other kids and hone their interpersonal skills because the virtual kid can produce certain types of emotional states when needed. The virtual child also doesn’t get impatient with the autistic child.

DailyTech first reported on emotionally aware computers similar to the system the researchers devised with Sam in 2006.