An Objective View of Autism in Naturalistic Contexts: Clinic to Classroom

Daniel Messinger, PhD, is a professor and director of the Child Division in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, where he has secondary appointments in Pediatrics and in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is the director of the Social Systems Informatics Program at the Institute for Data Science and Computing and Research Director of the Linda Ray Intervention Center.

Dr. Messinger employs machine learning of audio, video, and ultra wideband signals in naturalistic contexts to understand the dynamics of early social interaction. Guided by a dynamic systems perspective, he models early face-to-face interaction to predict attachment among infants at elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Messinger leverages objective measurements of behavior (movement and vocalizations) to detect interaction and predict the language development of children with ASD in inclusion preschools.

• Understand socioemotional indices of atypical development in infants at elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Discuss the use of automated measures of autism-related symptoms in screening and diagnostic contexts.
• Indicate how objective quantification of preschool behavior can predict the development of children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

The Child Mind Institute Visiting Professor Lecture Series invites leaders in the field of child and adolescent mental health to talk about the latest research and treatment protocols. All events are open to the public. Continuing medical education (CME) credits for psychiatrists and continuing education (CE) credits for psychologists and social workers are available to registered course participants. Learn more.

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