Learning how to read emotions aged nine

Nine-year-old Alex Cullenbine was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at six years old - but his mum, Donji, said she knew from 18 months that something was different. He avoided making eye contact, was slow to develop speech and was overly sensitive to sounds. Since his diagnosis, he had received behavioural therapy one or two times a week but he remained gaze avoidant. However, a few weeks after he started taking part in a small trial funded by the US government, at Stanford University, Donji noticed a difference in her son. "He was starting to flick glances to my eyes and then dart his gaze away. At first it happened a few times a day, which was absolutely stunning. I remember catching my breath and almost doing a mental double-take. "It gradually progressed to a handful of times per day, particularly when he wanted me to listen to him with my full undivided attention." People with autism can struggle to maintain eye contact and recognise emotions - and the scheme Alex had taken part in had been teaching him how to recognise emotions using Google glasses and an app. The glasses had a camera to record his field of view as well as a small screen and speaker to give him visual and audio information. As he interacted with other people, the app identified their emotions and told him via the glasses. He also used it as a game where he would have to guess the facial expression being shown by his mum or other adults. He used the system three times a week for six weeks and Donji says it "transformed" how Alex felt about looking at faces. "The glasses made a game of looking and gave him a key to decoding what he was seeing.