Evaluation of a new computer intervention to teach people with autism or Asperger syndrome to recognize and predict emotions in others.

Researchers gave autistic teens a short computer program. The goal was to teach them to read faces and guess how others feel.

Kids sat at a screen for ten 30-minute sessions across two weeks. They practiced matching faces to feelings like happy, sad, or angry.

The team then tested the teens on three emotion tasks and compared scores to a control group that had no training.

The trained group scored higher on all three emotion tests. The gains were medium in size, big enough to notice in daily life.

In plain words, the teens got better at spotting feelings in pictures and predicting what might happen next in social scenes.

Vasilevska Petrovska et al. (2019) ran a similar program for younger kids and saw larger gains. Their 12-hour version also helped children with intellectual disability, so the idea has grown stronger over time.

Whaling et al. (2025) pooled many later trials into one big meta-analysis. They confirm the quick boost we see here, but warn that skills often fade once the computer is gone.

Ohan et al. (2015) kept the same Mind Reading software but added real-life practice with a coach. Their teens kept the gains for five weeks, showing that extra rehearsal may lock the skill in place.

You can copy this low-cost program tomorrow. Ten short computer bursts fit inside most school or clinic schedules. Pair the screen time with live role-play to help the skill stick, and track data weekly to see if it transfers to real peers.