Acceptability of the Transitional Wearable Companion "+me" in Typical Children: A Pilot Study.

Valerio Sperati,Beste Özcan,Giada Turturo,Vincenzo Guidetti,Gianluca Baldassarre,Simone Scaffaro,Laura Romano,Tania Moretta,Maria Nicoletta Aliberti

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00125

Abstract

This work presents the results of the first experimentation of +me-the first prototype of Transitional Wearable Companion–run on 15 typically developed (TD) children with ages between 8 and 34 months. +me is an interactive device that looks like a teddy bear that can be worn around the neck, has touch sensors, can emit appealing lights and sounds, and has input-output contingencies that can be regulated with a tablet via Bluetooth. The participants were engaged in social play activities involving both the device and an adult experimenter. +me was designed with the objective of exploiting its intrinsic allure as an attractive toy to stimulate social interactions (e.g., eye contact, turn taking, imitation, social smiles), an aspect potentially helpful in the therapy of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The main purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate the general acceptability of the toy by TD children, observing the elicited behaviors in preparation for future experiments involving children with ASD and other PDD. First observations, based on video recording and scoring, show that +me stimulates good social engagement in TD children, especially when their age is higher than 24 months.

Highlights

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental conditions1 characterized by a lifelong impairment, varying in degree, of three basic areas for the psychological development of children: limited social interaction, impaired or altered communication and a restricted repertoire of activities and interests (Tsai, 1998; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
A common challenge in the treatment of children with developmental disorders characterized by social impairments, as in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is how to sustain their attention and engagement motivations to improve their social skills (Tennyson et al, 2016)
Several experimental studies have shown the potential efficacy of using robots as social catalysts when used as therapeutic tools, in particular that such artificial agents stimulate the interest of children with ASD and elicit exploration and interaction behaviors

Summary

Introduction

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by a lifelong impairment, varying in degree, of three basic areas for the psychological development of children: limited social interaction, impaired or altered communication (both verbal and non verbal) and a restricted repertoire of activities and interests (Tsai, 1998; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Epidemiological data collected in several developed countries show a dramatic increase of ASD cases, from 0.7 to 1.4% of the population, in the last decades (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Lyall et al, 2017). It is not clear if such increment is due to extrinsic factors, such as the refinement of diagnostic criteria and the improved awareness about the condition (Fombonne, 2009), the relevance of the phenomenon calls for important actions for childcare support services

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