How to Implement Robots in Interventions for Children with Autism? A Co-creation Study Involving People with Autism, Parents and Professionals.
Claire A G J Huijnen, Monique A S Lexis, Rianne Jansens and 1 others
PMID 28685411WHAT IT FOUND
Professionals and stakeholders said robot KASPAR for children with autism should be matched to each child's plan, short, gradual, and embedded in practice.
They described operation, voice, movement, setting, and training needs, not tested effects.
Key findings
0173 focus group participants described requirements for robot-assisted interventions.
0222 co-creation participants created 10 KASPAR intervention ideas.
03Participants said KASPAR should be integrated into the child's individualised education or therapy plan, documented like any other intervention, and used with enough time for the child and professional, with sessions of 10 to 15 minutes but maximum 30 minutes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study reports what participants said and created, not what happened to children after using KASPAR. No child outcomes, therapy goals, or intervention effects were tested. All participants were from The Netherlands, so practices elsewhere may differ. The co-created interventions were not implemented in the robot or tested with children before the study. The focus groups included 3 parents and 3 adults with autism, while most participants were professionals. The co-creation analysis did not evaluate intervention content, only understood it for later implementation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that KASPAR improves autism outcomes. It reports stakeholder requirements and 10 proposed intervention ideas, not tested child effects.