Abstract
Using a social robot has been proven to have multiple benefits for the training of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, there is no clarity on the impact of the interaction quality between a child with ASD and a robot on the effectiveness of the therapy. Previous research showed that the use of a robot in Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) could be an effective treatment component in diminishing ASD-related symptoms. Further analyzing the data from a randomized controlled trial of PRT treatment, we looked at the long-term effects of child–robot game interactions to see whether the interaction quality changes over time. The attention and the engagement of six children were measured through the observation of non-verbal behavior at three different stages in the treatment that took 20 sessions per child. The gaze and arm/hand behavior of the participants towards the robot, the game, and other present humans were observed. The analysis showed no significant decrease in the attention and the engagement of the children towards the robot and the game. However, the attention and engagement toward the parents of the children increased. We conclude that the main result of sustained attention and engagement with the robot is due to the personalization of the games to meet the specific needs of this user group. These specific needs are met through inclusion of variability to the level of development and personal choice of each participating child. We see the additional finding of increased attention towards the parents as especially positive since the children are expected to improve in human–human interaction as a result of this treatment.
Highlights
The use of social robots in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)has been a topic of research for years because it is one of the most promising applications for theseRobotics 2020, 9, 79; doi:10.3390/robotics9040079 www.mdpi.com/journal/roboticsRobotics 2020, 9, 79 robots [1,2]
We investigate the effects of long-term child–robot interaction on the attention and engagement of children with ASD within Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) therapy as an established intervention for this target group
Our results show that there is no change in the attention and engagement of the children towards the robot over time
Summary
The use of social robots in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)has been a topic of research for years because it is one of the most promising applications for theseRobotics 2020, 9, 79; doi:10.3390/robotics9040079 www.mdpi.com/journal/roboticsRobotics 2020, 9, 79 robots [1,2]. Most research on engagement and attention in interactions with robots reports results of interactions from single sessions to up to eight sessions [5,7] We consider these amounts of interactions with the robot as short interactions since the treatment provided by human trainers, such as Applied. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by deficits in social communication and interaction, and by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities and sensory abnormalities These deficits can affect the person’s ability to function properly at school, work, and other areas of life [13] and can result in the avoidance of social interaction [14,15,16]. The interventions are most effective when they start at an early age [1,18]
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