Social robots in cognitive and speech rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy: a scoping review.
Aray Zhaisanbek, Saule Karibzhanova, Ihteshamul Hayat and 5 others
PMID 41420188WHAT IT FOUND
Social robots were feasible and engaging for speech, language, cognitive and play therapy in children with cerebral palsy, but the reviewed studies were small, short and mixed in design, so they do not prove clinical effectiveness.
Key findings
01The review included 20 studies, only one of which used a randomized controlled trial design.
02One included study reported gains in phonological production, morphosyntax and semantics in 29 children over 73 sessions, with outcomes comparable to therapist-led sessions.
03Across the included studies, 75% reported high child acceptance, 17% moderate acceptance, and 8% mixed responses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 20 studies were included, and the review mapped rather than tested effects, so it cannot estimate how large any effect is. Most studies had fewer than 20 participants, and only one used a randomized controlled trial design. Interventions were short and heterogeneous, with few follow-up evaluations, so durability and transfer of skills are unclear. Outcome measures varied widely across clinical speech-language, play, motor, engagement and technical recognition metrics. Cross-study comparison is difficult. Children with severe cerebral palsy and multilingual children were underrepresented. English-language peer-reviewed sources were searched, and non-peer-reviewed literature was excluded, so relevant studies may be missing.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The supplied text gives no competing-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that social robots improve speech, language, cognition, play or motor function in children with cerebral palsy. The review mapped 20 mostly small, short and heterogeneous studies, only one randomized, so it mainly shows feasibility and engagement.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →