The use of the prompting and fading technique in autism

This paper is based on a review of the scientific literature inherent in pupils with autism spectrum disorder, particularly on the problem of emotion recognition and how the "prompt and fading" technique can help these people.Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) originates from a developmental impairment in which neuroanatomical, genetic, and environmental factors play a key role. It is widely known that one of the criteria for the diagnosis of ASD is qualitative impairment in social interaction, and it has also been shown that children with autism have severe difficulties in understanding the mental states of others, including recognizing and comprehending emotions.From the perspective of emotions, the role of facial expressions is indeed crucial. In order to be able to recognize emotions, the technique of "prompt and fading" can be used with the aim of improving the recognition of one's own and others' emotions. In this context, the teacher plays a key role: in fact, the importance of hiring qualified and empathetic staff is reiterated, so as to really help these pupils with autism.