Robot KASPAR as Mediator in Making Contact with Children with Autism: A Pilot Study

Research findings suggest that robots can enhance interventions targeted at children with autism spectrum disorder. A pilot study was conducted at a special needs school to examine the effect of robot KASPAR on making contact with children with autism. Nine children between 8 and 12 years of age participated in this mixed methods study with ABAB design. Children participated in 4 sessions, two with KASPAR and two with their teacher (usual care) resulting in total in 36 (video recorded) sessions. Main outcomes were micro behaviours of the children during sessions and teacher reactions based on video recordings. Results indicated that children showed significantly more non-verbal imitation (pvalue = 0.028), touched the robot more often than they touched the teacher (e.g. for a high-five) (pvalue = 0.012), maintained their attention longer (pvalue = 0.011), and were less often distracted (pvalue = 0.021) in the KASPAR sessions compared to the teacher sessions. The children made more positive verbal utterances as a reaction to the teacher than they did to KASPAR (pvalue = 0.028). A clinically relevant difference was identified in the amount of non-verbal behaviours shown and in the spontaneous use of verbal utterances on initiative of the child, both in favour of the KASPAR condition. As a conclusion, KASPAR was able to make contact with the children and to catch and hold their attention longer and in a more focused manner than the teachers. Moreover, children seemed to be at ease and enjoying the interactions with the robot, which constitute important requirements for further learning and implementation.