The use of Robotics in children with autism

Abstract

Recently, the number of individuals with autism has increased. In the meantime, the number of specialized doctors and therapists remains limited, resulting in efforts in the area of robotics aiming at the development of robots and other tools that can contribute to the therapy of autism. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of robots during the therapy of children with autism. The review of the relevant literature showed that the use of robots allows for an adaptable, simplified and reliable environment, that encourages the interaction between the children and the robot. This interaction helps children with autism to improve their social and collaboration skills and contributes to the minimization of their negative social behavior. Furthermore, it is observed that children increase eye contact, understand better the social rules and improve their quality of life. Children with autism prefer robots due to their appearance and the short range of emotions they are programmed to reflect. Robots are designed, taking into consideration the age and real needs of children in real time and they have the ability to enhance desirable behaviors, such as imitation, joint attention, initialization of communication and social behaviors.

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