Kelsey Carlson

Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Kelsey Carlson is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of developmental robotics and autism intervention, best known for her groundbreaking work on using social robots to enhance joint attention skills in autistic children. Her most-cited study, "Training Autistic Children on Joint Attention Skills with a Robot" (2018, 9 citations), demonstrated how humanoid robots can serve as predictable, non-judgmental interaction partners to teach foundational social communication behaviors—such as gaze following and pointing—that are often challenging for children on the spectrum. This work has been instrumental in shifting assistive technology from purely behavioral tools to socially engaging platforms that leverage robotic consistency to reduce anxiety and improve learning outcomes. Though early in her career, Carlson’s research has already influenced interdisciplinary conversations in human-robot interaction, special education, and cognitive science. Her contributions highlight the potential of embodied AI to create inclusive, adaptive learning environments, making her a rising voice in the drive to merge engineering precision with compassionate, evidence-based therapeutic design.