Ability of Children with Learning Disabilities and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Recognize Feelings from Facial Expressions and Body Language

Abstract

In this study, children with learning disability (LD) were compared with children with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) in terms of identifying emotions from photographs with certain face and body expressions. The sample
consisted of a total of 82 children aged 7-19 years living in Izmir in Turkey. A total of 6 separate sets of slides,
consisting of black and white photographs, were used to assess participants’ ability to identify feelings – 3 sets for
facial expressions, and 3 sets for body language. There were 20 photographs on the face slides and 38 photographs
on the body language slides. The results of the nonparametric Mann Whitney-U test showed no significant difference
between the total scores that children received from each of the face and body language slide sets. It was observed
that the children with LD usually looked at the whole photo, while the children with ASD focused especially around
the mouth to describe feelings. The results that were obtained were discussed in the context of the literature, and
suggestions were presented.