Physiological Signal Monitoring for Identification of Emotional Dysregulation in Children

Children, particularly those with atypical or delayed development, have a reduced ability to self-regulate their emotions and behaviour. After a number of anxiety or stress provoking events, this reduced regulatory ability can result in a meltdown. Extrinsic signals of an impending meltdown are often recognised and acted on by clinicians or parents. These external indications are also accompanied by internal physiological changes, such as increase in heart rate, skin electrodermal activity, and skin temperature. These physiological signals may be used to predict impending meltdown events and facilitate earlier and effective carer intervention, especially in complex management cases. We present a preliminary study using a wearable sensor system for continuous monitoring of physiological signals to measure and predict emotional changes in school-aged children. Our models are able to correctly classify the behavioural state of a child with 68% mean global model accuracy and up to 85% for person-dependent models. Prediction of emotion and identification of impending meltdowns will potentially assist parents, carers, teachers and clinicians to manage stress and problem behaviours before they escalate, and support self-management strategies throughout the variety of normal daily life.