AI-LEADSAI Lab for Early Autism Diagnosis and Screening · Northern Illinois University

Our Approach

We are innovating accessible, scalable, timely, objective autism screening by:

  • Making autism screening more accessible, objective, equitable and practical.

  • Using state-of-the-art, ethical and validated AI technology.

  • Protecting data privacy and security.

  • Developing evidence-based, community-based participatory research.

From an ordinary walking video to a screening result

  • Ordinary walking video
  • AI gait analysis
  • Screening on any device

See how iGAIT works →

Faculty

Our students come from computer science, engineering, speech-language pathology and physical therapy.

  • Amalia
  • Campbell
  • Naomi H.
  • Antonio
  • Habiba
  • Naomi L.
  • Elizabeth
  • Shaivil
  • Zoey
  • Angelica
  • Julia
  • John
  • Girija

Meet our students, alumni and collaborators →

Publications

Journal articles, conference papers, presentations and posters from the lab and its collaborators.

  • Journal articleZiteng Wang, Sinan Onal, Prashanna Pandit, Allison Gladfelter, Milijana Buac. 2026. Accessible autism screening in children: A pilot study of markerless gait analysis from ordinary walking videos. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities. DOI · PDF
  • PosterStep by Step: An AI-Enabled, Video-Based Gait Screening Tool for Early Identification of Autism. ASHA 2026 Convention. Meritorious poster, a 6% acceptance rate.
  • Conference paperGuangyu Sun, Wenhan Wu, Zhishuai Guo, Ziteng Wang, Pegah Khosravi, Chen Chen. 2026. Unlocking multi-site clinical data: A federated approach to privacy-first child autism behavior analysis. CVPR 2026 Workshop on Computer Vision for Child Health.
  • Journal articleLindsey Anderson, Allison Gladfelter, Milijana Buac, Waifong Catherine Cheung, Ziteng Wang, Sinan Onal. 2025. Relationships between cultural factors and motor abilities in autistic and non-autistic children. Behavioral Sciences.

See all publications

Lab News

Research Participants Needed

We are recruiting children ages 3–12 for our video-based gait study. Taking part is short and simple, and participants get a cool toy.

See how to take part or email GaitStudy@niu.edu

Sponsors and Acknowledgments

AI-LEADS and the iGAIT project are made possible by the generous support of our sponsors.

We also thank the participating children and their families, and the graduate and undergraduate research assistants whose work makes this research possible.

Contact Us

Questions about the lab, collaborations, or joining the team? Email Dr. Ziteng Wang

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