Facial encoding of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders

Facial encoding of a sample of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) was compared to facial encoding of matched typically developing children. Each participant was photographed after being prompted to enact a facial expression for six basic emotions. Raters evaluated (a) the extent to which the photo reflected the emotion, (b) the emotion in the photograph, and (c) the degree to which the photo appeared odd. Children with HFASD were significantly less adept at encoding sadness, and their expressions were significantly odder than those of their typical peers. Nonsignificant trends for children with HFASD suggested somewhat greater difficulty encoding anger and fear, as well as somewhat greater skill in encoding surprise and disgust, which was unanticipated.