This article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC 1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children's development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human-robot interactions.
This article presents a novel set of ten play scenarios for robot-assisted play for children with special needs. This set of scenarios is one of the key outcomes of the IROMEC project that investigated how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents etc.). The target user groups in the project were children with Mild Mental Retardation, 1 children with Severe Motor Impairment and children with Autism. The play scenarios were developed against specific educational and therapeutic objectives that were discussed with panels of experts (teachers, therapists, parents) in various countries, during several user panel meetings for each of the above mentioned target user groups. These objectives were classified with reference to the ICF-CY, the International Classification of Functioningversion for Children and Youth. The article presents a detailed description of the play scenarios, each with its relevant educational and therapeutic objectives in five key developmental areas (i.e. sensory development, communication and interaction, cognitive development, motor development and social and emotional development). While the play scenarios described in this paper originally were developed for and tested with the above user groups and with the IROMEC robot, the play scenarios can potentially be applied to other user groups and to a wide range of other applications involving human-robot interaction using different robotic toys.
Abstract. Within the co-funded European pr4oject IROMEC (IST-FP6-045356), aiming at developing and experimenting an innovative robotic toy to be used in play intervention addressed to children with motor-based, cognitive and developmental disabilities, specific guidelines for using robots in educational and rehabilitation environments have been developed. The guidelines are addressed to therapists, teachers and researchers aiming to promote inclusion in play of children with disabilities and are meant as a tool to apply robotics in play-based intervention.
ContextOccupational therapy Target population 0-to 6-year-old children with physical disabilities Objectives Play assessmentShort description The Assessment of Ludic Behaviour (ALB) is a criterion-referenced evaluation tool designed to assess the development of the social and object play in children with motor impairments. The assessment procedure includes a parent's interview and the observation of child's free play behaviour.The Initial Interview with Parents on the Ludic Behavior of Their Child (Ferland, 1997(Ferland, , 2005) provides information on the child's play behaviour at home from the parents' perspective. It provides information about the child's play material, toy preferences, play interests, favourite playmates, most functional position to play and frequency of play in the family environment.The purpose of the observational assessment is to characterize the qualitative and individual aspects of a child's play behaviour with respect to his/her play interests, play abilities, and play attitude. The manner in which the child communicates is noted as well.Based on observation procedure, five different areas are examined, encompassing different categories: General level of interest and motivation (Human, Sensory); Basic Ludic Abilities (Action with regard to objects, Action with regard to space, Use of objects, Use of space); Ludic Interest (Action with regard to objects, Action with regard to space, Use of objects, Use of space); Ludic attitude (Curiosity, Initiative, Sense of humour, Pleasure, Enjoyment of challenge, Spontaneity); Communication in play. Each area encompasses a different number of items, scored according to a 3-point scale. The evaluator scores the items with the aid of a check list while the child is playing; at the end of the session if some item has not been observed the evaluator can initiate the play activity trying to involve the child.The ALB can be used to set up play-based interventions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.