Use of robotics to stimulate imitation in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A pilot study in a clinical setting

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition in which deficits in social interaction and social communication can make everyday life difficult. The use of mechanical and electronic devices has proven to be effective in ASD therapy and recently Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR) research has suggested that robots are promising tools for the treatment of this disorder. Starting from these findings, our on-going research aims to identify effective modalities for treatment of ASD through interaction with a robot, and to integrate them into existing therapeutic protocols to improve their efficacy. In this paper we present some preliminary findings of our current work towards this objective. We detail the methodology and give the results of a pilot clinical trial, focused on imitation skills, with three children affected by ASD and Intellectual Disability (ID) under treatment in a research centre specialized in the care of children with disabilities. The success of the experiment suggests that the robot can be effectively integrated in the ASD therapies currently used in the centre. Analysis of these initial results encourages the development of effective protocols in which the robot becomes a mediator between the child with ASD and humans and suggests some research avenues for focus in the future.