Comparing the effectiveness of robot-based to human-based intervention in improving joint attention in autistic children

Abstract

BackgroundChildren with autism have impairments in initiation of joint attention (IJA) and response to joint attention (RJA).AimsThe present study compared the learning effectiveness of robot-based intervention (RBI) with that of content-matched human-based intervention (HBI) in improving joint attention (JA). We examined whether RBI would enhance RJA, in comparison to HBI. We also examined whether RBI would increase IJA, in comparison to HBI.Methods and proceduresThirty-eight Chinese-speaking children with autism aged 6 to 9 years were randomly assigned to RBI and HBI groups. Before intervention, their autism severity, cognitive abilities, and language skills were assessed. Each child received six 30-min training sessions over 3 weeks. During training, he/she watched one or two robot/human dramas twice where two robot/human actors demonstrated eye contact and RJA.Outcomes and resultsChildren in the RBI (but not HBI) group produced more RJA and IJA behaviors in the delayed post-test than in the pre-test. Parents of the RBI children rated the program more positively than those of the HBI children.Conclusions and implicationsRBI may be more effective than HBI in promoting JA in autistic children with high support needs. Our findings shed light on the application of robot dramas in enhancing social communication skills.

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder Could Interact More Easily with a Robot than with a Human: Reasons and Limits

“…Two other studies carried out, respectively, with a CuDDler bear robot and a CommU robot also demonstrated improvement in this behavior in children aged 4-5 and 5-6 years [38,39]. Joint attention training with robots (HUMANE) is more effective than training with humans in improving response and initiation of joint attention in 6-9-year-old children with ASD [40]. In a gaze cueing paradigm, adults with ASD followed the gaze of an EDDIE robot more than that of a human [43].…”

“…The same question can be asked about the generalization of these behaviors to human partners once the sessions with the robot are over: the abilities acquired with the robot then seem to be transferable to human-human interactions [19,21,38,52,65]. The children would be able to apply the skills acquired with the robot in new contexts, at least for joint attention [39,40], gesture imitation [65], and emotion recognition [21]. Parents of children with ASD who underwent a month of training with the robot around social games reported significant changes in their child's social behavior: increased eye contact, interaction initiation, and response to communicative acts [19].…”