Robot-Assisted Training of Joint Attention Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism

Due to technological and scientific advances, a new approach to autism therapy has emerged, namely robot-assisted therapy. However, as of now, no systematic studies have examined the specific cognitive mechanisms that are affected by robot-assisted training. This study used knowledge and methodology of experimental psychology to design a training protocol involving a pet robot CuDDler (A*STAR Singapore), which targeted at the specific cognitive mechanism of responding to joint attention (RJA). The training protocol used a modified attention cueing paradigm, where head direction of the robot cued children’s spatial attention to a stimulus presented on one of the sides of the robot. The children were engaged in a game that could be completed only through following the head direction of the robot. Over several weeks of training, children learned to follow the head movement of the robot and thus trained their RJA skills. Results showed improvement in RJA skills post training, relative to a pre-training test. Importantly, the RJA skills were transferred from interaction with the robot to interaction with the human experimenter. This shows that with the use of objective measures and protocols grounded in methods of experimental psychology, it is possible to design efficient training of specific social cognitive mechanisms, which are the basis for more complex social skills.