Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism (MITA) - an Early Intervention Computerized Brain Training Program for Children With ASD

Visual puzzles have been used for centuries to facilitate early development in kids. Mental
Imagery Therapy for Autism (MITA) is a unique, early-intervention application for children
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The app includes bright, interactive puzzles designed
to help children learn how to mentally integrate multiple features of an object, an ability
that has proven to lead to vast improvements in general learning. Success with MITA puzzles
could overtime result in significant improvements in a child's overall development,
specifically in the realms of language, attention and visual skills.

SCIENCE BEHIND THE PROJECT:

MITA is based on Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), one of the best-supported therapies for
children diagnosed with ASD. MITA aims to develop one of four pivotal skills targeted by
PRT: a child's ability to notice and to respond to multiple visual cues presented
simultaneously. This ability is typically impaired in individuals with autism, leading to
what is commonly described as stimulus overselectivity, or "tunnel vision." Improving the
capacity to discern and respond to multiple cues has been shown to reduce stimulus
overselectivity, which in turn leads to vast improvements in general learning.

The visual exercises follow a systematic approach for developing a child's ability to notice
multiple characteristics, or features of an object. MITA starts with simple exercises that
teach a child to attend to only one feature, such as size (see screenshot 1) or color
(screenshot 2). Over time, the exercises get more difficult and require the child to attend
to two features simultaneously, such as both color and size (screenshot 3). In order to
solve these puzzles, a child must learn how to hold two pieces of information in their mind
(both the size and the color of an object) and make a decision based on the combination of
these features. Once a child has practiced attending to two features, the program moves on
to puzzles that require attending to three features, such as color, size and shape
(screenshot 4), and then eventually to puzzles that involve attending to an ever-increasing
number of characteristics.

As a child progresses through MITA's systematic exercises, he or she is developing the
ability to simultaneously attend to a greater number of features, reducing the propensity
towards tunnel vision, and thus developing an essential component of language. The ability
to mentally build an image based on a combination of multiple features is absolutely
necessary for understanding syntax, spatial prepositions and verb tenses.

MITA is designed for early childhood and intended for long-term, daily use. It is designed
to be engaging and educational, as well as adaptive and responsive to the individual
abilities of each child.