Table 4 Parent-Child Interaction Tasks

From: Multimodal AI for risk stratification in autism spectrum disorder: integrating voice and screening tools

Task

Age (months)

Description

Steps

Responding to Name

18–48

Parent calls the child’s while out of sight.

1. Parent calls child’s name (1st attempt).

2. If no response after 5 s, parent calls again (2nd attempt).

3. If still no response, parent makes other familiar sounds (excluding physical contact).

Imitation (Younger)

18–23

Parent instructs the child to imitate raising arms.

1. Parent says, “[Child’s name], imitate me,” and raises arms.

2. If no response after 5 s, repeat instruction and action. 3. If still no response, say “Raise your arms” while demonstrating.

Imitation (Older)

24–48

Parent instructs the child to imitate clapping and raising arms.

1. Parent says, “[Child’s name], imitate me,” claps, and raises arms. 2. If no response after 5 s, repeat instruction and actions. 3. If still no response, say “Clap your hands, raise your arms” while demonstrating.

Ball Play

24–48

Parent and child engage in a ball-playing activity.

1. Parent says, “Let’s play ball.”

2. Parent gestures as if to receive the ball.

3. If no response after 5 s, repeat gesture.

4. If still no response, say, “Roll the ball to me.”

5. Continue play if successful.

Symbolic Play

36–48

Parent and child engage in pretend play with a doll and a cup.

1. Parent says, “The baby is thirsty. What should we do?”

2. If no response after 5 s, parent imitates the baby/animal, saying, “I’m thirsty.”

3. If no response, parent brings a cup to the doll, saying, “Let’s have a drink.”

4. Continue play with simple episodes.

Requesting Help

18–48

Child is presented with a desirable object in a container they cannot open independently.

1. Parent says, “[Child’s name], have a snack.” 2. If no response after 5 s, partially open the lid.

3. If still no response, fully open the lid but keep it in hand.

Free Play

18–48

Child engages in unstructured play, with the parent joining in later.

1. Child plays freely for 2 min.

2. Afterward, the parent joins child’s play for 1 min.

3. If no response, parent says, “Shall we play together?”

  1. This table describes the standardized parent-child interaction tasks used to collect audio data via a mobile application. The tasks were designed to elicit behaviors relevant to ASD diagnosis and varied based on the child’s age.
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