Visual and Hearing Sensitivity Affect Robot-Based Training for Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

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.

Social Robots: A Promising Tool to Support People with Autism. A Systematic Review of Recent Research and Critical Analysis from the Clinical Perspective

“…We believe it is relevant to report that one study indicated an association between severity and stimulus preference (Ali et al, 2021). Stimulus preference has also been linked to perceptive sensitivity, as demonstrated by two studies involving children, showing that perceptive sensitivity influences the interaction with the robot and the outcomes of the robot-mediated intervention (Chevalier et al, 2022). Kumazaki and colleagues (2022a) also indicated that sensory sensitivity affects the interaction with the robot, even in older participants and adults.…”

“…Sensitivity to vision is linked to improved joint attention skills in children with ASD during robot-assisted therapy, especially for those with lower visual sensitivity. Conversely, higher sensitivity to hearing is associated with better outcomes when combining standard therapy with robot activities, potentially due to heightened responsiveness to the robot's motor sounds (Chevalier et al, 2022).…”

An Experimental Methodology for Introducing Educational Robotics and Storytelling in Therapeutical Activities for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

“…However, the usefulness of ER extends beyond mathematical, logical and computational thinking. Different studies [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] agree that robot-supported interventions can be particularly useful as an educational strategy for students with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental language disorder (DLD). And this is so not only at an educational strategy level, but also as part of therapeutical protocols [17].…”