Research: Children-Robot Interaction: A Pilot Study in Autism Therapy

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Authored by Kozima, H., Nakagawa C., and Yasuda Y. in Progress in Brain Research, Volume 164, Issue , p. 385-400, (2007).

Article summary (posted Nov 2, 2007):

Simple robots may help children with autism learn social skills.

This study looked at whether or not the robot Keepon was able to cause a response in children (2-4 years old) with autism. Keepon has a small snowman-like body. It can only do a few things: turn to look at something, rock, and bob up and down. Although Keepon is a simple robot, children with autism were drawn to it and interacted with it. The authors believe that this supports the idea that children with autism do want to share and exchange mental states.

Links:

You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
autism, pilot study, robot, social skills groups, therapy
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