Robot-Assisted Therapy for the Severe Form of Autism: Challenges and Recommendations

摘要

This paper presents an exploratory study consisting of a series of Robot-Mediated Therapy (RMT) sessions utilizing a humanoid NAO robot with five children with a severe form of autism for two weeks. The focus on RMT for children with low-functioning autism (LFA) was motivated by a relative neglect of Robot-Assisted Therapy efforts to address additional challenges facing individuals with LFA such as impairments of language and intellectual ability. Children aged 4-8 years old attended six 15-min sessions that included different types of applications programmed on the robot. The cumulative results obtained from the observations and interviews of the participants' parents did not demonstrate significant progress in their social skills. Also, this paper explains the challenges and provides recommendations for further improvements of patient-centered interaction design in the area of RMT tailored for children with a severe form of autism.