Use of Technologies to Improve Quality of Life and Well-Being in People with Autism (ASD) and Chronic Anxiety and/or Depression from a Gender Perspective

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience anxiety and/or depression, complicating their diagnosis due to sensory hypersensitivity and social difficulties, with negative impacts on well-being and quality of life. Social stigma worsens mental health issues, particularly affecting women and older individuals. New technologies may be a key for enhancing well-being by addressing communication gaps and reducing anxiety and depression levels. The main objective of this chapter is to explore the current use of technologies and the perception of their impact on people diagnosed with ASD, chronic anxiety, and/or depression. This goal will be obtain answer of human computer interaction in social robots and other technologies used in ASD to reduce anxiety and depression levels. For this purpose, we used secondary data from the “Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy and Dependency Situations (EDAD)” of the National Institute of Statistics (INE, 2020, Spain) regarding people with chronic anxiety (n = 2070), chronic depression (n = 2179) and ASD (n = 241). The results show a correlation between the improvement in quality of life and the use of technologies in these three groups of people from a gender and intergenerational perspective. Devices such as the Empatica E4 show alterations in autistic children undergoing robotic therapy, so this may be useful for personalized and autonomous interventions. All of these technologies and different forms of AI could currently provide benefits for other more vulnerable groups, such as minors, women, and older people.