An exploratory study of children’s pretend play when using a switch-controlled assistive robot to manipulate toys

Abstract

Introduction: Assistive robots could be a means for children with physical disabilities to manipulate toys and for occupational therapists to track children's play development. This study aimed to (a) establish if free play setups without and with a robot would elicit a developmental sequence of play in typically developing children, (b) determine if the robot affected children's play and (c) observe the play schemes that children performed. Method: An experimental crossover design was conducted. Thirty typically developing children between the ages of 3 and 8 years old performed free play activities with conventional toys or unstructured materials without and with a switch-controlled Lego Mindstorms robot. Children's pretend and functional play was analyzed using a coding scheme developed for the present study. Results: There was a trend, increasing with age, for pretend play without the robot with unstructured materials (p ¼ .002), and with the robot, for conventional toys (p ¼ 0.015) and unstructured materials (p ¼ 0.027). Younger children exhibited more pretend play without the robot than with it. Conclusion: Assistive robots and appropriate play setups can provide a method to measure the play development level of children with disabilities, and support pretend play. Suggestions to support pretend play when children with disabilities use assistive robots are discussed.

Using robots to assess problem-solving skills

“…There may have been too many demands on the children once the demands of the task were added on top of the demands to control the robot. This is also consistent with results where the same participants did free play with the robots after the problem-solving task; children aged 5 years and older were able to do more pretend play while younger children did more functional play (Adams et al, 2017).…”

Use of Robots for Play by Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…In fact, children with severe motor disabilities may regard themselves as spectators rather than actors, because they are used to "being done to" rather than "doing with" by their playmates or by adults in care of them, who tend to take the initiative and direction of the play [6]. The absence of play may also deprive the child from key interactions with the social and material environment, resulting in isolation and reduced social, linguistic and cognitive skills' development [2] Children with motor disabilities may not have the same opportunities to engage in playful activities as their typically developing counterparts. The limitations for free and autonomous participation in daily activities due to motor impairments may hinder the proper development of children's sensory and perception capabilities, and cause low self-esteem and self-efficacy [3].…”

“…Additionally, free play is spontaneous, intrinsically motivated, and self-regulated and requires the expressive personal involvement of the child [1]. Furthermore, play contributes to children's development in terms of discovery, learning, mastery, adaptation, creativity, self-expression and social skills [2].…”

Improving gross motor skill development through the Montessori method in children aged 3-5 years

“…The development of motor skills is a very important factor for personal development as a whole. Through motor development, children can entertain themselves, obtain feelings of pleasure through motor skills, and can play or get along with their peers 6 . If a child's motor abilities are not good, it will have an impact on children's development such as social activities, concentration skills, and poor motor planning abilities 7 .…”