Experiences of Persons With Executive Dysfunction in Disability Care Using a Social Robot to Execute Daily Tasks and Increase the Feeling of Independence: Multiple-Case Study.

This was a multiple-case study, so it describes what happened in these cases rather than testing Tessa against usual care. Goal attainment was self-reported by participants and caregivers, not independently verified. Tessa was introduced together with caregiver training, goal setting, custom programming, and help-desk support, so the contribution of the robot alone cannot be separated. Two of 18 participant-caregiver couples withdrew early because of irritation or stress, and complete data were obtained for 16 couples, while some goal results were reported for 18. Some participants did not hear reminders because they were away, had irregular schedules, or lived in large houses. Additional goals were not monitored, so the study cannot describe outcomes for all uses of Tessa. Participants were Dutch-speaking adults from one disability care organization, so results may not apply to other settings.

Do not conclude that Tessa has been shown to improve independence. This multiple-case study had no comparison group, relied on self-reported goal attainment, and combined the robot with caregiver training, goal setting, and custom programming, so it cannot separate the robot's effect from those supports.