The use of robots in social behavior tutoring for children with ASD

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may benefit from 'self care' solutions which use social robotics principles. Specifically, the authors propose to use robots in various ways to help such children with the acquisition and training of important pragmatic social behaviors, for example greetings. In order to create such a learning environment, knowledge about 'typical social behavior' and 'ASD deviations in social behavior' will be modelled. The main propositions, for which some evidence already exists, are that (1) interaction with (robotic) technology is free of social tension for children with ASD and (2) this can therefore, by removing inhibitions, aid the acquisition and training of social skills, and, moreover (3), that these skills can be transferred and used productively in social interaction with other humans.