The Effects of Utilizing a Robot on the Social Engagement Behaviors of Children with Autism in a Triadic Interaction

• Main Author: Blanchard, Kristi Anne
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2012
• Subjects: autism; robot; social engagement; Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3279; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4278&context=etd

The study presents the use of a humanoid robot to facilitate social engagement behaviors in four children with autism. These children were enrolled in a semester long treatment program based on components of the SCERTS model designed to facilitate social communication (Prizant, 2003). Following baseline, children received intervention sessions with and without the robot. During sessions involving the robot, each child would participate in a 10 minute interaction (as part of a 50 minute sessions) using a robot to facilitate interaction with a graduate clinician or parent. The interactions were recorded and analyzed for occurrences of social engagement behaviors. This study focused specifically on the triadic interaction that occurred in the pre-and post-intervention sessions. The triadic interaction was a structured play sequence involving three individuals (the child, the graduate clinician, and the assisting graduate clinician). The results suggest that the robot has potential to facilitate reciprocal action between children with autism and adults.