New DVD to help autistic children understand emotions

A new animated DVD series designed specifically to aid the development of autistic children aged between two and eight years old has been launched in Australia.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK and the University of Melbourne, Australia, worked on the project, which aims to help autistic children to recognise emotions.

Real human faces are used on animated toy vehicles, a medium which researchers are confident will help capture childrens' attention and get them interested in interpreting faces and emotions - something they usually shy away from.

Cambridge Autism Research Centre director professor Baron-Cohen explained: "Children with autism and Asperger Syndrome love order and predictability.

"They like trains, trams and other mechanical objects that behave in simple predictable ways, but not faces and emotions which are less predictable."

The DVD is the outcome of a joint study, published in the British Jorunal of Educational Psychology 's Education Neuroscience monograph.

Find out about Barchester's support for adults and children with a wide range of Autistic spectrum conditions.