https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10846-023-01872-9
Abstract
An array of developmental disorders known collectively as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can cause significant social interaction, communication, and behavioral challenges. To remedy this autistic impact at its very early stage, researchers are focusing their attention on robotics research with humanoid robots. It has been claimed that under certain circumstances, children with ASD (CwASD) interact more actively and spontaneously with robots than humans. Therefore, Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) has become a beneficial approach in training CwASD to abate their autism disabilities. This paper extensively reviews the prior findings on HRI for CwASD. With some critical analysis, a couple of findings have been highlighted to address the research gaps on the effectiveness of the intervention sessions administered by the robots. A total of nine traits of autism, intervention sessions administered by various tasks, different types of robots used, number of CwASD’s along with their age, diagnosis methods applied to quantify the autism levels, and, finally, the outcomes with identified research gaps have been analyzed. With some comparative depictions, the reader can visualize the broad scenario and overall research condition of robot-assisted training (RAT) for CwASD. This review recommends employing robots in supervised applications to enhance therapeutic effectiveness, broaden acquiescence, and inspire trust among practitioners, CwASD, and guardians. Overall, RAT is a promising use for intelligent social robots, especially for helping CwASD achieve therapeutic and educational goals. We expect interdisciplinary collaboration to address its difficulties quickly.
Citation: Islam, M.A., Hasan, M.M. & Deowan, S.A. Robot-Assisted Training for
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review. J Intell Robot Syst 108, 41
(2023).