Measuring change in facial emotion recognition in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.

The included studies used different designs, analyses, and reporting, so firm conclusions about change across studies cannot be drawn. To compare measures, the review assumed interventions were roughly equally potent, which may not be true. Most studies used cognitively able participants, so the results may not apply to people with intellectual disability. Only six measures had been used across multiple teams, so most measure findings rest on one study or one team. Some measures used assessment materials similar to the intervention materials, so improvement may reflect learning the test rather than general facial emotion recognition. The search keywords were limited, although reference lists were checked for missed studies. The review did not examine intervention dosage or format in depth. The paper did not state the total number of participants analysed.

The article is marked as supported by NIH extramural research funding. No author conflict-of-interest statement is included in the supplied text.

Do not read the CAM-C results as proof that Mind Reading improves facial emotion recognition. Only three of the eight CAM-C studies used a control condition, and the studies evaluated Mind Reading computerized intervention or broader treatment programs. The contribution of any single component cannot be separated.