Conversation Clock Aims to Improve Conversation Skills of Kids with Aspergers
By Hugh C. McBride
A computer science expert from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UI-UC) has developed a technique for converting the content of conversations into color-coded images – a breakthrough that she believes may be able to enhance the social skills of children with Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism.
Karrie Karahalios’s “Conversation Clock” provides immediate visual feedback about who is and isn’t speaking, as well as how loudly and how long they are speaking, and if they are interrupting others.
The technology has a variety of applications; for example, an April 1 Reuters article notes that it could be employed in relationship counseling to demonstrate and document disparities within a couple’s communication patterns. At the moment, though, Karahalios is focusing on the ways in which the clock can help improve the communication skills of children with Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning autism.
Immediate Visual Feedback
According to an article that was posted on the website of the UI-UC Department of Computer Science, features of the Conversation Clock include the following:
• Conversations are displayed on a computer terminal in vibrant red, yellow, blue, and green.
• Three times each second, a color bar on the monitor displays who is speaking. The bars grow in size if the voice that they represent gets louder, overlap another color to represent interruptions, and abruptly narrow with silence.
• By providing feedback in real time, the clock can act as a type of social mirror, Karahalios said, allowing people to adjust their speech in the same way they adjust their appearance before a glass mirror.
• Every minute, a new circle of bars is created, forming a visual record of the conversation that is similar to the rings within a tree trunk. This feature allows participants to visualize both immediate interaction patterns and the progression of the entire conversation.
“Kids with Asperger's tend to do ‘monologuing’ and ‘lecturing’ without letting others intervene," Maria Dixon, a clinical instructor in hearing and speech with the University of Maryland, said in the Reuters article. “The challenge is to get them visual feedback while this is happening.”
Asperger’s Syndrome and Social Skills
As Dixon and Karahalios have both observed, children with Asperger’s syndrome often have difficulty engaging in conversations, and many struggle to form and maintain healthy relationships. Adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome often express negative emotions when discussing the topic of friendship, but experts have noted that efforts to enhance their socialization skills can reap significant and lasting benefits.
At Southeast Journeys, which offers semester-length academic programs for teens with Asperger’s, the development of effective social skills is among the highest priorities. Through role-playing, modeling, practicing, and receiving constant supportive feedback, Southeast Journeys students are able to enhance their ability to read nonverbal clues, engage in effective communication with others, and develop the self-confidence that accompanies more mature socialization skills.
As is the case with Karrie Karahalios’s Conversation Clock, the lessons and experiential activities that comprise the Southeast Journeys curriculum are designed to provide innovative alternative opportunities for teens with Asperger’s syndrome to raise their self-esteem while building better interpersonal communication skills.
Other Opportunities for Teens with Asperger’s
Recent decades have seen significant advances in the development of effective learning programs for adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome. Excellent opportunities exist both during the school year and at specialized summer camps for adolescents with Asperger’s.
The most effective and reputable programs for teens with Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning autism provide nurturing, structured environments in which highly trained staff members offer both education and support in a consistently positive manner.
By designing learning experiences that take into account the individual strengths and needs of each student, these programs can significantly enhance students’ self-esteem and self-worth, and can allow them to make great strides toward becoming self-sufficient while also engaging more effectively with family members and friends.
