Use of Robots for Play by Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Free play is of great benefit for children's physical and cognitive development, especially for younger ages. However, children with motor restrictions cannot engage in free play like their peers because they face strong challenges to manipulate and interact with their environment. This lack of play opportunities may hinder proper cognitive development, along with several other problems such as decreased social skills or low self-esteem. In recent years several studies have discussed the use of robots to provide children with motor disabilities more opportunities for free play. This paper gives an overview of recent studies regarding the use of robots for play by children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). We also propose a work framework composed by a bi-manual articulated robot to further expand those children's play opportunities.