Incorporating a Robot in Intervention with Children with ASD: The Effect on Tantrum Behaviors

• Main Author: Whitmer, Tayler Bodon
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2015
• Subjects: autism; robot intervention; tantrum behaviors; single subject research; Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6144; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7144&context=etd

This study examined the effect of intervention involving a humanoid robot on challenging or tantrum behaviors of four children with low-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current work was part of a larger study involving the effect of the robot on functional communication skills on a variety of different interactions with different communication partners. All participants took part in a single-subject, multiple-baseline design with various session types including baseline, traditional play-based treatment, treatment including the robot, and follow-up sessions. For the purpose of this study, only the sessions including treatment with the robot where the robot interaction occurred at the beginning or the end of a 50-minute session were analyzed. Six different categories of tantrum behaviors were analyzed during the sessions including: crying/screaming; self-distracting behaviors; biting, hair pulling, squeezing or pinching; throwing/shoving; and hitting/kicking. Results indicate that for 3 out of the 4 children, tantrum behaviors decreased when the robot interaction came at the beginning of the session. The fourth child showed minimal change in tantrum behaviors. To improve understanding of the influence of a robot on children with ASD, future research should be conducted to determine what aspects of the robot interaction would be most effective on reducing these behaviors.