An automated voice analysis machine called LENA, has been recently developed by researchers in hope to be able to identify autism in children at early stages of their development. After a research which involved 232 children (77 of them were already known to have autism) and required them to use a small device with a mic, specialists claim that certain voice patterns in autistic children can be picked up by this machine. Once the voice recordings are downloaded onto a computer and analyzed by the automated system, there is a way to separate voice patterns of normally developing children from the ones belonging to kids with a language delay. Although they claim that more research is necessary, that the research needs to be conducted involving younger children and that the researching team should have no knowledge of the kids’ condition, LENA is already the new buzz word.
You might want to check Lena Foundation’s website, it’s pretty interesting, but just to give you an idea about what these guys do, here’s their “about us”:
The LENA Foundation develops advanced technology for the early screening, research, and treatment of language delays and disorders in young children. Philanthropists Terrance “Terry” Paul and Judith “Judi” Paul formed the not-for-profit organization through a multimillion-dollar gift. Over a five-year period, the foundation created the LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) System, the world’s first automatic language collection and analysis tool and the foundation’s principal technology. The foundation employs a team of scientists and engineers skilled in computerized speech and speaker recognition, microelectronics, statistical research, and children’s language acquisition and development; they are dedicated to helping the foundation enhance language development worldwide.