Therapist-Student-Robot Relationships in the Education of Autistic Children: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

To address increasing autism rates, this capstone seeks to provide recommendations to teachers and therapists on how to use robots in the education of autistic children. These robots have been found by scholars and researchers to help in educating and engaging with autistic children – such as measuring attention, playing games, and teaching cognitive skills. However, more awareness needs to be raised on these robots, as well as how to use them. Collecting existing research and input from teachers and therapists in the local area, this paper shares those recommendations, answering the question ‘what is the best approach for Therapist-Student-Robot relationships in the education of autistic children, based on input from therapists/teachers and research about said robots?’ Results from nine interviews with teachers and therapists, indicate that: a) differences in age affects opinion and level of acceptance regarding robot use in education b) users and developers must be aware of organization policies that affect robot implementation c) whoever is interested in implementing them must have cautious optimism and d) therapists and teachers are open to using robots, but require more information and training to be comfortable using them