Evidence-based robotic intervention programmes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been limited. As yet, there is insufficient evidence to inform therapists, teachers, and service providers on effectiveness of robotic intervention to enhance social development and participation of children with ASD in a real context. This study…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face significant challenges in social reciprocity, which involves the mutual exchange of social cues and interactions. This study investigates the potential of using a child-height assistive robot named Rudolf to enhance the social reciprocity skills of children with ASD. The research focused…

Background: This study presents a Robot-Inspired Computer-Assisted Adaptive Autism Therapy (RoboCA[supercript 3]T) focusing on improving joint attention and imitation skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). By harnessing the inherent affinity of children with ASD for robots and technology, RoboCA[superscript 3]T offers a…

In today's societies, technology occupies a central position in different social spheres. In educational environments, robotics can act as an assistive tool for students with disabilities. More specifically, this tool helps autistic students in the development of attention, which is the fundamental skill in the cognitive and social development of…

In the current investigation, we used a single case alternating treatments design to evaluate the effects of a robot prompter on the social interaction of three pairs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Findings suggest that three participants produced more utterances and conversational turns when a robot prompter was present, and two…

With technological developments in the 21st century, robot applications have proven to be beneficial in providing some opportunities to help with teaching numerous skills such as joint attention and social skills to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, in the studies investigating the effects of robots on joint attention (JA) in…

Difficulties with social interaction characterise children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and have a negative impact in their everyday life. Integrating a social-humanoid robot within the standard clinical treatment has been proven promising. The main aim of this randomised controlled study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a robot-assisted…

Parental involvement in traditional autism therapy is key to the effective treatment of children with ASD. Little is known about parental involvement in robot-assisted autism therapy (RAAT)--novel therapeutic support for children with ASD. Our study investigates the effect of parental presence on multiple-session RAAT conducted with 16 children…

Humanoid robots have shown to provide interesting perspectives for autistic children. Yet, few studies have looked at educators' point of view on the use of such robots in educational settings. This paper presents a case study of the use of a humanoid robot, NAO, in a French preschool class dedicated to autistic children. Our work focuses on the…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder often struggle to establish and keep positive relationships with peers and adults due to experiencing communication and social difficulties. It has been shown that humanoid robots and virtual agents can enable interventionists to maximize engagement during instruction and program for generalization. Having…

Purpose: This research explores the initial attitudes of special educators towards socially assistive robots (SAR) and considers how cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds shape these attitudes. Special educators providing services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States and Serbia were surveyed, representing…

The complex handwriting skill, necessary for effective expression that has spatial, temporal, and kinaesthetic aspects ("three-aspects" henceforth), needs planning alongwith fine motor skill. Unlike neurotypicals, individuals with Autism possess cognitive and motor deficits adversely affecting handwriting, addressable through…

Technological tools are being used in support sessions with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), producing a high level of encouragement and engagement in these individuals. A four-step study comprising a focus group session, thinking aloud sessions, an online questionnaire, and a pilot study was conducted. First, a focus group session…

This qualitative study explored the views of teachers and an occupational therapist about the potential use of humanoid robots as an assistive tool in educating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children. Seven participants with extensive experience handling early intervention programs for ASD children were selected via purposive sampling.…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show great interest in technological devices, and especially in robots. Several studies in the field have suggested that socially assistive robotics (SARs) can help children with ASD in the enhancement of their social skills and communication, and in the reduction of their stereotypical behaviors. Few…