Socially Assistive Robots and Autism

Abstract

Socially Assistive Robotics is a newly emerging area of robotics where robots are used to help a human through social interaction. This paper describes an ongoing project on the use of robotics as therapeutically or educationally useful tools for treating individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The robotic Lego NXT platform was used to develop an economical, practical and efficient means of helping teach social behavior to individuals with ASD in school/home environments. In addition, our approach to treatment is described as an educational intervention which is a combination of Socially Assistive Robotics, the DIR/Floortime intervention model and social script/stories.