Robot-mediated intervention can assist children with autism to develop visual perspective taking skills

Gabriella Lakatos,Luke Jai Wood,Dag Sverre Syrdal,Abolfazl Zaraki,Ben Robins,Kerstin Dautenhahn

doi:10.1515/pjbr-2021-0007

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we tested a recently developed novel methodology to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) improve their Visual Perspective Taking (VPT) and Theory of Mind (ToM) skills using the humanoid robot Kaspar. VPT is the ability to see the world from another person’s perspective, drawing upon both social and spatial information. Children with ASD often find it difficult to understand that others might have perspectives, viewpoints and beliefs that are different from their own, which is a fundamental aspect of both VPT and ToM. The games we designed were implemented as the first attempt to study if these skills can be improved in children with ASD through interacting with a humanoid robot in a series of trials. The games involved a number of different actions with the common goal of helping the children to see the world from the robot’s perspective. Children with ASD were recruited to the study according to specific inclusion criteria that were determined in a previous pilot study. In order to measure the potential impact of the games on the children, three pre- and post-tests (Smarties, Sally–Anne and Charlie tests) were conducted with the children. Our findings suggest that children with ASD can indeed benefit from this approach of robot-assisted therapy.

Highlights

Visual Perspective Taking (VPT) is the ability to view the world from another individual’s perspective, taking into consideration what they see and the way they see it [1]
In the light of this, the aims of the current research were to (1) eliminate the problems identified in the pilot study presented above and (2) collect further evidence to establish whether a humanoid robot like Kaspar can be used to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to develop VPT skills
While some earlier studies suggested that VPT1 skills may be intact in ASD [11,18,19,20], findings of Warreyn et al [15,75] provided evidence that children with ASD have difficulties with VPT1 tasks as well as with VPT2 tasks, suggesting that these skills may develop in a slower and qualitatively different way in children with ASD

Summary

Introduction

Visual Perspective Taking (VPT) is the ability to view the world from another individual’s perspective, taking into consideration what they see and the way they see it [1]. This means one must successfully utilise both social and spatial information. The social information relevant to VPT includes the simultaneous representation of two differing perspectives, taking into consideration if and how the other person can see an object [2]. The second level (VPT2) is the ability to understand that two or more people looking at the same object from different positions might not see the same thing [1]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion