Socially assistive robots have the potential to become a powerful therapeutic tool for individuals affected by the autism-spectrum condition (ASC). However, to date, only a few studies investigated the efficacy of robot-assisted training in structured protocols. The current study aimed at investigating the beneficial effects of a robot-assisted training embedded in the treatment plan provided by an Italian healthcare institution. In collaboration with the healthcare professionals of Piccolo Cottolengo Genovese di Don Orione, we designed a robot-mediated activity aimed at improving social skills in children with ASC Twenty-four ASC kids (Age = 5.79 ± 1.02, 5 females) completed the activities with the robot in a cross-over design, during a period of ten weeks. Their social skills were assessed before and after the robot intervention activities, using the Early Social Communication Scale (ESCS). Results showed that the combination of robot-assisted training and the standard therapy was more effective than the standard therapy alone, in terms of improvement of social skills. Specifically, after the robot-assisted training, children with ASC seem to improve their abilities to generate and respond to behavioral requests and in their tendency to initiate and maintain social interaction with the adult. Our results support the idea that robot-assisted interventions can be combined with the standard treatment plan to improve clinical outcomes.

The concept of scaffolding refers to the support that the environment provides in the acquisition and consolidation of new abilities. Technological advancements allow for support in the acquisition of cognitive capabilities, such as second language acquisition using simple smartphone applications There is, however, one domain of cognition that has been scarcely addressed in the context of technologically assisted scaffolding: social cognition. We explored the possibility of supporting the acquisition of social competencies of a group of children with autism spectrum disorder engaged in a rehabilitation program (age = 5.8 ± 1.14, 10 females, 33 males) by designing two robot‐assisted training protocols tailored to Theory of Mind competencies. One protocol was performed with a humanoid robot and the other (control) with a non‐anthropomorphic robot. We analyzed changes in NEPSY‐II scores before and after the training using mixed effects models. Our results showed that activities with the humanoid significantly improved NEPSY‐II scores on the ToM scale. We claim that the motor repertoire of humanoids makes them ideal platforms for artificial scaffolding of social skills in individuals with autism, as they can evoke similar social mechanisms to those elicited in human‐human interaction, without providing the same social pressure that another human might exert.

The concept of scaffolding refers to the support that the environment provides in the acquisition and consolidation of new abilities . Technological advancements allow for support in the acquisition of cognitive capabilities, such as second language acquisition using simple smartphone applications There is, however, one domain of cognition that has been scarcely addressed in the context of technologically-assisted scaffolding: social cognition. We explored the possibility of supporting the acquisition of social competencies of a group of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder engaged in a rehabilitation program (Age = 5.8 ± 1.14, 10 Females, 33 Males) by designing two robot-assisted training protocols tailored to Theory of Mind competencies. One protocol was performed with a humanoid robot and the other (control) with a non-anthropomorphic robot. We analysed changes in NEPSY-II scores before and after the training using mixed effects models. Our results showed that activities with the humanoid significantly improved NEPSY-II scores on the ToM scale. We claim that the motor repertoire of humanoids makes them ideal platforms for artificial scaffolding of social skills in individuals with autism, as they can evoke similar social mechanisms to those elicited in human-human interaction, without providing the same social pressure that another human might exert.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of sensory sensitivity during robot-assisted training for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Indeed, user-adaptation for robot-based therapies could help users to focus on the training, and thus improve the benefits of the interactions. Children diagnosed with ASD often suffer from sensory sensitivity, and can show hyper or hypo-reactivity to sensory events, such as reacting strongly or not at all to sounds, movements, or touch. Considering it during robot therapies may improve the overall interaction. In the present study, thirty-four children diagnosed with ASD underwent a joint attention training with the robot Cozmo. The eight session training was embedded in the standard therapy. The children were screened for their sensory sensitivity with the Sensory Profile Checklist Revised. Their social skills were screened before and after the training with the Early Social Communication Scale. We recorded their performance and the amount of feedback they were receiving from the therapist through animations of happy and sad emotions played on the robot. Our results showed that visual and hearing sensitivity influenced the improvements of the skill to initiate joint attention. Also, the therapists of individuals with a high sensitivity to hearing chose to play fewer animations of the robot during the training phase of the robot activity. The animations did not include sounds, but the robot was producing motor noise. These results are supporting the idea that sensory sensitivity of children diagnosed with ASD should be screened prior to engaging the children in robot-assisted therapy.

There is a growing body of research in the literature that investigates the relationship between emotions and decision-making in socio-economic contexts. Previous research has used Serious Games (SGs) based on game theory paradigms with socio-economic contexts to explore this relationship in controlled settings, but it is unclear whether such SGs can be applied in the wild, which would improve their usability in natural settings. The emergence and widespread availability of mobile computing technologies have enabled the creation of diverse SG implementations. We developed a mobile SG that combines four socio-economic interactions (trust game, ultimatum game, dictator game, prisoner’s dilemma game) into one narrative and conducted an initial experiment with eight participants. This study discusses the challenges of deploying SGs in the wild and proposes solutions to overcome them. The results from the preliminary user experience experiment indicate that the SG is a suitable tool for emotion elicitation in the wild and that the results are similar to those observed in previous studies under controlled environments. We argue that these findings suggest that mobile SGs have potential for studying the relationship between emotions and decision-making in socio-economic contexts in the wild, improving the reach of these methods beyond laboratory settings.