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About

Wan-Yi Lam is a pioneering researcher whose work sits at the intersection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) intervention, child development, and social robotics. With a sustained focus on Chinese-speaking preschoolers with ASD, Lam has made significant contributions to understanding how robot-based therapies can address core developmental challenges, including delayed gestural communication, joint attention, functional play, and narrative abilities. Lam's most influential work demonstrates that social robots can serve as effective therapeutic tools for children who have historically been difficult to engage through traditional intervention methods. Her 2017 study on gestural recognition and production (72 citations) helped establish foundational evidence for robot-assisted learning in ASD contexts, while subsequent research explored whether robot interventions could close developmental gaps between children with ASD and their typically developing peers. Notably, her 2019 comparative study (51 citations) tackled the compelling question of whether robots might outperform human instructors in certain learning outcomes. Collectively, Lam's body of work has accumulated over 300 citations, reflecting its broad influence across speech-language pathology, special education, and human-robot interaction research. Her pioneering use of play-drama frameworks alongside robotics represents a particularly creative and culturally sensitive approach to early childhood intervention.