Review of assistive technology in the training of children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

The use of socially assistive robotics (SARs) is a promising method for improving the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies conducted in this field in recent years show that the use of robots as collaborators may have positive effects on the development of social skills in children with ASD, especially in those areas where they reveal great deficits.

In this literature review, we present, organize and evaluate the most important features and results of 13 relevant scientific articles. In analysis of the research findings we explored the documented effectiveness of robotics in enhancing the social skills of children with ASD in the areas of mutual attention, verbal communication and imitation skills, and also in the reduction of stereotypical behavior. Analysis of the results of the 13 studies confirmed that robots can have positive immediate effects on the communication skills of children with ASD, which holds promise for future intervention programs and relevant research.

Keywords:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• robotics
• social robotics
• social skills

Disclosure statement

The authors have not received grants. There is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

Additional information

Funding

This study is self-funded.