I Know! Robots Can Teach Our Autistic Kids!
Cup of robots anybody?
The Autonomous mobile Robot as a Remedial tool for Autistic children Project. The AuRoRA Project:
studies if and how robots can become a "toy" that might serve an educational or therapeutic role for children with autism. Our main aim is to engage children with autism in coordinated and synchronized interactions with the environment thus helping them to develop and increase their communication and social interaction skills. Important social skills that we aim to facilitate are turn-taking and imitation, in addition to general communication and interaction skills that are required in human-human contact. Humans are the best models for human social behaviour, but their social behaviour is very subtle, elaborate, and widely unpredictable. Many children with autism are however interested to play with mechanical toys or computers. Our project aims at children who have less developed communication and interaction skills.
The AuRoRA robots have been designed to teach autistic children social interaction skills, turn-taking, and imitation games. They also act as mediators and encourage interaction with humans.
In simple terms, what I am seeing here is interesting, but it boils down to a project that wants to help autistic children, but does not truly understand autism and its unique expressions.
The AuRoRA Project provides an information page about autism. Have a look at this sentence:
The child seems to be 'cut-off' from the world and as an observer, avoiding social contact and viewing other individuals as providers or observers, without seeming to require social interaction and not knowing how to initiate or partake in social situations.
Again, this type of commentary perpetuates autism myths. Understanding autism requires a different approach as opposed to taking in only what the eyes see. There are several autistic adults heavily blogging in order to speak out against such assumptions.
Check out Amanda Baggs's blogs titled:
Yep we do have nonverbal communication
Dialects of nonverbal language
I also noticed on the AuRoRA autism info page, a reference stating that autistic people lack imagination--another myth that needs to be conquered. Hold on there a second. I suppose I should be liberal and state that autistic lack of imagination *may* be a myth. Let it be known, however, that I would die for a one-in-a-million scholarship to work with Steven Spielberg on the next robot fantasy movie--and especially so if it heavily entailed the use of my imagination.
On a positive note, the robots used in AuRoRA seem awesome! I especially like the Peekee robot provided by Wany Robotics in France.
A few links:
KASPAR, Kinesics And Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics
Design Issues on Interactive Environments for Children with Autism -beware of non-autistic friendly references and assumptions
Disclaimer: As a robot lover, I had--and have--no intention of hurting the feelings of any robots who may stumble upon this post, especially you Crow T. Robot, C-3PO and Johnny 5!
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