Making learning easy for children with autism using robots

Teaching children with Autism Spectrum Disorder poses many challenges for special educators working in this area. Dr. Bhattacharya and his team studied the use of toy robots — small in size and not necessarily humanoid — in assisting learning for children with autism spectrum disorder. One lesson was “Talk to Me” where the child and the robot would talk to each other and practice self-introduction questions. “For example, Cozmo would ask the child, ‘what is your name?’ If the child did not respond, the special educator would prompt the child, or the robot would also prompt the child, saying, ‘I didn’t hear you’,” says Ms. Paul. “Some of the children showed great interest in the robot sessions, they even started small spontaneous conversations with me — a total stranger,” says Ms. Paul.