Descrizione del progetto
Dare voce ai bambini autistici minimamente verbali
La comunicazione è un aspetto fondamentale della nostra vita, ma per circa il 30 % dei bambini con autismo che sono minimamente verbali, è una sfida complessa. Per esprimersi, questi bambini utilizzano soprattutto vocalizzi non verbali, che spesso vengono fraintesi da chi non è strettamente legato a loro. Con il sostegno del programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto COMUTTI combinerà l’elaborazione del segnale audio e l’interazione uomo-computer per creare interfacce vocali avanzate per la terapia del linguaggio. Saranno sviluppati algoritmi di apprendimento automatico per classificare queste vocalizzazioni, sfruttando le intuizioni uniche di chi si occupa di loro. Con il coinvolgimento attivo di utenti finali, assistenti ed esperti di autismo, sarà progettato un prototipo di comunicazione aumentata alternativa basata sulla voce.
Obiettivo
About 30% of children with autism are minimally verbal (MV), meaning they can communicate mainly through nonverbal vocalizations (i.e. vocalizations that do not have typical verbal content). Vocalizations often have self-consistent phonetic content and vary in tone, pitch, and duration depending on the individual's emotional state or intended communication. While vocalizations contain important affective and communicative information and are comprehensible by close caregivers, they are often poorly understood by those who do not know the communicator well. An improved understanding of nonverbal vocalizations could pave the way for a better understanding of the cognitive, social, and emotional mechanisms associated with MV children with autism. Moreover, it could lead to new therapeutic interventions for these subjects based on advanced voice-based technology for Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC), i.e. for communicating without using words.
This MSCA touches on the research fields of audio signal processing (in particular, children's vocalizations perception) and human-computer interaction (in particular, voice-based interfaces for speech therapy). It aims to advance the understanding of MV autistic children's vocalizations and exploit the obtained knowledge to create advanced voice-based interfaces to enhance their therapeutic interventions. During the outgoing phase at MIT, the work will be about identifying and implementing machine learning algorithms for classifying children's vocalizations. The core strategy is to leverage the unique knowledge provided by caregivers who have long-term acquaintance with MV children with autism and can recognize the meaning of their vocalizations. In the return phase at POLIMI, the project will be about designing, developing, and empirically validating a voice-based AAC prototype for children's speech therapy through a participatory-design process involving end users, their caregivers, and autism experts.
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Invito a presentare proposte
(si apre in una nuova finestra) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoMeccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF -Coordinatore
20133 Milano
Italia