This study evaluated Mind Reading, an interactive systematic
guide to emotions, for its effectiveness in teaching adults with Asperger
syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) to recognize complex
emotions in faces and voices. Experiment 1 tested a group of adults
diagnosed with AS/HFA (n = 19) who used the software at home
for 10–15 weeks. Participants were tested on recognition of faces
and voices at three different levels of generalization. A matched control
group of adults with AS/HFA (n = 22) were assessed without
any intervention. In addition, a third group of general population
controls (n = 24) was tested. Experiment 2 repeated the design of
Experiment 1 with a group of adults with AS/HFA who used the software
at home and met in a group with a tutor on a weekly basis. They were
matched to a control group of adults with AS/HFA attending social
skills training and to a general population control group (n = 13
for all three groups). In both experiments the intervention group improved
significantly more than the control group on close, but not distant,
generalization tasks. Verbal IQ had significant effects in Experiment 2.
Using Mind Reading for a relatively short period of time allows
users to learn to recognize a variety of complex emotions and mental
states. However, additional methods are required to enhance
generalization.The first author was
supported by the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Corob
Charitable Trust, the Cambridge Overseas Trust and B'nai B'rith
Leo Baeck scholarships. The second author was supported by the Shirley
Foundation, the Medical Research Council, and the Three Guineas Trust. We
are grateful to the following for helping with this study: our
participants, Red Green and Blue Ltd, Jessica Kingsley Ltd, Pamela Yates
for arranging and running the social skills groups, Andrea Macleod and Rob
Whiskens (Autism West Midlands), Jill Howard (Autism London), Lynne Moxon
(European Services for People with Autism), and Harriet Fisher and James
Graham (The Interact Centre). Many thanks to Jacqueline Hill, Chris
Ashwin, Sally Wheelwright, Matthew Belmonte, Yael Golan, Sarah Johnson,
Emma Chapman, and Ilaria Minio Paluello. A version of this work was
presented at the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR), May
2004.