Iris van den Berk-Smeekens
Papers
4
Total Citations
189
H-Index
4
About
Iris van den Berk-Smeekens is a leading researcher at the intersection of developmental robotics and clinical intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her work focuses on leveraging social robots to enhance Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), a well-established behavioral therapy for children with ASD. Her major contributions include pioneering robot-assisted PRT protocols and rigorously evaluating their effectiveness through randomized controlled trials. Her most-cited paper (2020, 65 citations) demonstrates high adherence and acceptability of a robot-assisted PRT protocol, while a subsequent trial (2021, 46 citations) compared PRT with and without robot assistance, showing robots can boost children’s motivation for social interaction. She also explored how robot interaction affects self-initiations (2020, 44 citations) and long-term engagement (2020, 34 citations), revealing that sustained child-robot interaction can improve attention and therapeutic outcomes. Her work bridges engineering and clinical psychology, offering scalable, engaging tools for autism intervention. Van den Berk-Smeekens’ research is widely cited for its practical implications, providing evidence that robots can serve as effective, motivating partners in therapy, ultimately advancing personalized, technology-driven approaches for children with ASD.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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