Interactive Spatial Audio reproduction for Health and Well-Being of Special-Needs Children

Typically, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience complications in tactile, visual and auditory processing, with over 96 of children with ASD experiencing hypersensitivities in multiple domains, and whilst sensory processing dysfunction is not specifically limited to individuals on the autistic spectrum it does appear to more prevalent within this population when compared to other developmental disabilities. Sound sensitivity is a specifically poignant and common issue for those with ASD, research conducted by Greenspan and Wieder [1] in 2000 found that all 200 participants displayed evidence of auditory processing impairments. These receptive abnormalities can provoke atypical self-regulatory behaviours which may be observed as aggressive or autonomic fear responses such as covering ears, crying and self-injury from blows to the ears. Unfortunately, these profound aversions are reported to be provoked by common environmental sounds. By avoiding such sensory stimuli children can have limited social interactions and activity restrictions which may impede on language, cognitive and social development.
Despite the atypical auditory processing associated with those with ASD, traditional music based therapies make up approximately 12 % of all autism interventions, and have been successful in aiding communication, social-emotional and motor development. However, new approaches to auditory interventions have focused on addressing hypersensitivity to sound and have employed systematic desensitisation methods to specific auditory stimuli, which although successful, can be both time consuming and is demanding in terms of resources.
The proposed research looks to build upon these interventions by utilising new spatial audio rendering technologies to generate fully immersive and interactive virtual audio environment, providing an adaptive exposure therapy for children with autism and sound hypersensitivities. By virtually replicating the full spatial audio environment, caregivers will have opportunity to adjust local parameters specifically for the child's individual needs and developmental abilities, creating the optimal interactive zone. Current virtual environment exposure interventions such as the Blue Room [2] heavily rely on visuals to deliver an immersive environment and do not aim to deliver full 360 audio. Research conducted by Argo [3] for eliciting emotions for those with anxiety through spatial audio, has found that people with greater sensory sensitivities are more receptive to auditory stimulus. Furthermore, a realistic reproduction of sound events will negate the possibility of a visual stimulus overload, thus creating a safe and efficient intervention environment for children with ASD. Additionally, this project aims to integrate real world sounds into an interactive musical framework. Therefore, encompassing traditional music therapy benefits including cognitive, social and motor development, with the systematic desensitisation to auditory stimuli that would usually impair an autistic child's participation in everyday activities.
References
[1] S. I. Greenspan and S. Wieder, "Developmental patterns and outcomes in infants and children with disorders in relating and communicating: A chart review of 200 cases of children with autistic spectrum diagnoses," Journal of Developmental and Learning disorders, vol. 1, pp. 87-142, 1997.
[2] M. Maskey, J. Lowry, J. Rodgers, H. McConachie, and J. R. Parr, "Reducing specific phobia/fear in young people with autism spectrum disorders (asds) through a virtual reality environment intervention," PloS one, vol. 9, no. 7, p. e100374, 2014.
[3] J. Argo, "Immersive soundscapes to elicit anxiety in exposure therapy: physical desensitization and mental catharsis," Ph.D. dissertation, University of Glasgow, 2017.