Background: Impairment in social communication is the primary deficit in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research has shown that there are efficacious interventions to address social communication deficits, yet their delivery is hampered by the lack of human and time resources. Emerging assistive technologies, such as smartglasses, may be able to help augment the social communication interventions currently provided by human educators and therapists. While emerging research suggests assistive socio-emotional coaching smartglasses can be effective and usable in research settings, they have yet to be studied amidst the complex social, physical, and time-constrained environment of the school classroom. This single-subject study reports on the feasibility and efficacy of 16 intervention sessions of the Empowered Brain Face2Face module, a smartglasses-based social communication intervention.Methods: A 13-year-old fully-verbal adolescent male student with a diagnosis of ASD received a total of 16 smartglasses-aided intervention sessions over a two-week period. Interventions occurred twice-daily during school days, and were facilitated by school professionals. Outcomes were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2), a commonly used validated measure of social communication in children with ASD, by his parent, paraprofessional, and two teachers. Difficulties in usability during the study were recorded through observation notes. Results: The participant completed the three-week study (1 pre-intervention week (baseline) and 2 intervention weeks) without any observations of adverse effects or usability concerns. The parent and 3 educators completed the SRS-2 for the baseline and intervention weeks, demonstrating significant improvement in social communication after the intervention relative to baseline. The parent, special education teacher, and general education teacher noted marked reductions in SRS-2 total T score, with improvement in SRS-2 social communication, social motivation, social cognition, and restricted interests and repetitive behavior subscales. Conclusion: Smartglasses are a novel assistive technology that can help facilitate social communication and behavioral coaching for students with ASD. The use of the Face2Face module by Educators over a two-week period was associated with improvements in social communication. While further research is warranted, this study supports the use of this novel technology to deliver assistive social communication and behavioral coaching in schools.

Introduction:Augmented reality smartglasses are an emerging technology that are under investigation as a social communication aid for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and as a research tool to aid with digital phenotyping. Tolerability of this wearable technology in people with ASD is an important area for research, especially as these individuals may experience sensory, cognitive, and attentional challenges. Aims:The aim of this study was to assess the tolerability and usability of a novel smartglasses system that has been designed as a social communication aid for children and adults with autism (the Brain Power Autism System; BPAS). BPAS runs on Google Glass Explorer Edition and other smartglasses, utilizes both augmented reality and affective artificial intelligence, and helps users learn key social and emotional skills. Method:Twenty-one children and adults with ASD across a spectrum of severity used BPAS for a coaching session. The user's tolerability to the smartglasses was determined through caregiver report, and user being able to wear the smartglasses for one-minute (initial tolerability threshold), and for the entire duration of the coaching session (whole session tolerability threshold).Results: Nineteen out of 21 users (90.5%) demonstrated tolerability on all three measures. Caregivers reported 21 out of 21 users (100%) as tolerating the experience, while study staff found only 19 out of 21 users managed to demonstrate initial tolerability (90.5%). Of the 19 users who demonstrated initial tolerability, all 19 were able to use the smartglasses for the entire session (whole session tolerability threshold) (n = 19 of 19, 100%). Caregiver's reported that 19 out of 21 users (90.5%) successfully used BPAS, and users surpassed their caregiver's expectations in 15 of 21 cases (71.4%). Users who could communicate reported BPAS as being comfortable (94.4%). Discussion:This preliminary report suggests that BPAS is well tolerated and usable to a diverse age-and severity-range of people with ASD. This is encouraging as these devices are being developed as assistive technologies for people with ASD. Further research should focus on improving smartglasses design and exploring their efficacy in helping with social communication in children and adults with ASD.

Background: The presence of accelerometers in smartphones has enabled low-cost balance assessment. Smartglasses, which contain an accelerometer similar to that of smartphones, could provide a safe and engaging platform for virtual and augmented reality balance rehabilitation; however, the validity of headmounted measurement of balance using smartglasses has not been investigated.

Background: On July 18 th , 2017, X, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. announced the successor to Google Glass. Glass Enterprise Edition could function as an assistive technology for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet its acceptability, desirability, and the willingness of children with ASD to wear it, are not known. The authors review key issues surrounding smartglasses and social communication, child development, and the school environment. Methods:The smartglasses were evaluated by eight children with ASD, who ranged from moderately non-verbal to verbal, in the context of whether they would desire to wear it and use it as an assistive device each day at their respective schools. Children represented the full range of school ages (6 to 17yrs). Results:All eight children responded that they would want to wear and use Glass Enterprise Edition at school. Additionally, all eight parents said their child had fun during the testing session, and six of eight parents said the experience went better than they had thought. Conclusion:The results show that children with ASD are willing to use Glass Enterprise Edition in a school setting, highlighting its desirability and social acceptability in this population, as well as its future potential as an assistive technology.