Talk to Me: The Role of Human-Robot Interaction in Improving Verbal Communication Skills in Students with Autism or Intellectual Disability

摘要

Autism is a developmental condition that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. Children on the autism spectrum may have difficulties developing verbal communication skills, understanding what others say, or communicating through non-verbal cues. Similar difficulties are experienced by children with developmental delay. A recent trend in robotics is the design and implementation of robots to assist during therapy and education of children with learning difficulties. Although encouraging results suggests that robots can be beneficial, there has been limited work on the long-term impact of these tools on the verbal communication skills of children with autism or developmental delay. This paper explores the impact of robots on the verbal communication skills of secondary aged students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities and autism. A qualitative study was carried out, via focus groups and interviews with parents, carers and staff members, 24 months after the introduction of two humanoid robots into the disability unit of a public secondary school. Results show that humanoid robots can provide benefits in articulation, verbal participation and spontaneous conversation in these young adults. Three exemplars are presented.