Heart Rate Variability Response on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development Children

摘要

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children causes communication, social and behavior problems. It is important for children with autism to get early assessment to allow them to get the best intervention as quickly as possible. The aim of this study is to investigate the heart rate variability response between ASD children and typical development (TD) children. Twenty subjects were participated in this study; where six are children with ASD, and 14 are TD children. All subjects underwent resting state and colour stimulus test conditions. Photoplethysmography (PPG) signal was recorded for four minutes for each condition. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) signal was than derived from the PPG. The total of 19 features of HRV were extracted. From the results, there was a significant difference for TP, VLF, LF, and HF (p < 0.05) during the resting condition. In contrast, no significant difference was found for all 19 features during the colour stimulus test condition. As a conclusion, HRV response is able to differentiate between ASD and TD children and could contribute to the detection of ASD to facilitate the children getting the best intervention at the earliest possible time.