Socially Assistive Robots: Autism Case Study

For most of the 20th century, scientists were not equipped with the technology while parents were not fully aware of the social, behavioral, and communicative challenges associated with children having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Abnormal symptoms, ranging from repetitive behaviors to developmental and social disabilities, were previously diagnosed as other neurological or psychological disorders such as schizophrenia (Meyer 2011). The spectrum is an umbrella term for 5 recognized subtypes (Marchant 2009). Despite the fact, awareness together with support has grown over the years, the rate of autism has grown

Autism is the most rapidly growing developmental disorder in the U.S. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both similar terms for a group of complicated disorders of brain development. Autism Spectrum Disorders are characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and communication skills with the presence of extremely odd behaviors. Autism is a spectrum condition meaning that while all individuals with autism share somewhat common challenges in their conditions they will all be affected differently. Social communication, interaction and imagination are three main areas of which all of those with autism share. Numerous individuals with ASDs have distinct ways of learning and behaving towards certain situations. Autism affects tens of millions globally and 3 million individuals in the United States alone.

ASD can be defined as an array of neurobehavioral disorders that are "characterized by various degrees of impaired social interaction and communication, and repetitive, stereotyped behavior". Children with autism typically exhibit some form of cognitive impairment in learning, functioning, attention, and sensory processing (Jolly, 2015).Successful treatment of the hospitalized child with ASD is to listen to and encourage active involvement of the family or caregiver. Establishing a clear method of communication with the child will also contribute to therapeutic care for the patient (Jolly, 2015). It is of utmost importance to identify the manner in which the child best understands information and how the child best expresses needs. A routine is a comfort mechanism for the child with ASD (Jolly, 2015).While trying to encourage the use of a routine in the hospital setting, using the same caregivers may also decrease patient anxiety. The nurse should work with the family to identify if the patient is particularly agitated by touch, sound, smell, sight, tastes, or foods (Jolly, 2015). Each child is different, and identifying each one's unique agitators will help make the child as comfortable as possible while in the hospital setting. Many children with ASD respond well to reward systems, which may be a way to overcome a child's increasing

Opponents believe that behavioral programs produce robotic children, not children who think independently. (Lovaas, 1987; Maurice, 1993) It is interesting to distinguish that if a person who displays autistic symptoms is expose to ABA is not for trying to cure the disease, is only to try to produce a positive improvement in their lives.

The short story Robbie from Isaac Asimov follows the Weston family and how they react to Gloria Weston’s relationship with Robbie who is her robot nanny. Gloria Weston is eight years old and loves Robbie like a real human friend. Robbie is not an ordinary robot because he shows emotion and complexity in how he interacts with Gloria. He seems to enjoy playing with her and hearing her read Cinderella as his favorite story. However, Robbie shows typical 1990’s robot traits with a clunky parallelepiped head and no means of speaking.

At work, people are claiming to be too busy on their devices to be able to have conversations. In fact, they do not want to have the face to face interaction, but would “rather just do things on [their] blackberry” (136). Moreover, a “sixteen-year-old boy who relies on texting for almost everything says wistfully, ‘Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation’” (136). The reliance on technology has increased significantly and the necessity for conversation has pivoted. A teenage boy confesses that he feels more comfortable talking to an “artificial intelligence program” (138) about dating instead of his own father. Similarly, many people want “Siri, the digital assistant on Apple’s iPhone, [to become] more advanced, [because] ‘she’ will be more and more like a best friend” (138). Robots are being given more credit for comforting humans than humans themselves. Not only are the younger generations thinking this, but also the elders. When Turkle brought a baby seal robot to a nursing home, an elder woman began to speak to it and feel comforted by it. It is a tragedy that humans are feeling a deeper connection with robots than other humans. Humans have the experiences and the feelings that the robots are not capable of having. Hence, there is confusion about the difference between conversation and

In aging society with fewer children, Japan should adopt nursing-care robots in order to make up for the caregiver shortages and avoid economic recession which causes from a drain of young people. If the nursing-care robots are introduced into our life in aging society, they can relieve the heavy burden from the young generation. Robots will also have a major influence on lifestyle. Hopefully, this research can be helpful for your better understanding about nursing-care robots and a chance to think about the attitude towards them. Robots will play an important role in our future.

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is characterized by various symptomology ranging from inappropriate social behavior due to inability to experience and express situation-appropriate affect and lack of interest in other persons in general to repetitive, stereotyped behavior like insistence on routine, situation-specific actions, or obsessive focus on object-placement or sensory aspects of objects. There have been several attempted strategies at correcting these characteristics of ASD over the years, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) which focuses on thought process correction and behavior alteration,

These robots are known as the ICub, and excel at interacting with the human population safely. One of these robots, known as Molly, exists in Bristol, England (Honigsbaum). This small combination of metals, wires, and computer components actually helps the elderly with simple tasks that they would ordinarily need help with. In addition to helping the elderly, the ICub can also help clean the work space of individuals. Simon, an upper-body humanoid, assists in moving a variety of items and cleaning workspaces. This robot was developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and statistics state that, “Simon could tell with close to 80% accuracy whether someone was paying attention or ignoring him.” This proves that it is indeed possible to create helpful machines that can also interact with humans through the regulation and extra development of artificial intelligences. All of the activities that the ICub Robots partake in are completely beneficial to the global society and will have a large impact on the culture of the world as a whole. An added plus to the push for technological development is that countries can use these advancements as a way to better the future of their state. These nations can accomplish this through the integration of robotic aids into their school systems. An instance in which this concept is used occurs in the Connecticut school system. Through Project D.I.S.C.O.V.E.R middle school students

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a group of developmental disorders. ASD includes a wide range, “a spectrum,” of symptoms, skills, and levels of disability. People with ASD often have these characteristics such as ongoing social problems that include difficulty communicating and interacting with others. Repetitive behaviors as well as limited interests or activities. Symptoms that typically are recognized in the first two years of life. Symptoms that hurt the individual’s ability to function socially, at school or work, or other areas of life. Some people are mildly impaired by their symptoms, while others are severely disabled. Treatments and services can improve a person’s symptoms and ability to function. In the presence of

The significance of communicating cannot be understated; communication prevents misunderstandings, it provides stress relief, builds relationships, and enhances self-confidence. Children with autism are affected with limited abilities to communicate; therefore it is imperative to utilized tools and approaches to build and enhance this fundamental need. The picture exchange system provides of viable option that enhances abilities that were once thought to be nonexistent. Originally

There have been many researchers who have tried to set up situations where children have to decide the best way to react when given unwanted variables. Parsons, Leonard, and Mitchell (2004) used Virtual Environments to help with social skill training for individuals with ASD’s. In this study, they worked with two boys helping them by using Virtual

In the 1990 's robots were designed and introduced to assist with child development it was called Roball. Roball was primarily

In “Alone Together: The Robotic Movement,” Sherry Turkle explains some of the negative effects that robots are having on our lives. She also explains how they can have a negative effect on our daily lives without us even noticing. I am someone who knows a great deal about technology, however I had no idea that close human-robot interaction was happening at such an inappropriate level. There are many different examples Turkle uses in the article, however, I will only talk about two. I agree with Turkle not only that there are ethical problems with human-robot interaction but also that a lot of other forms of technology might be doing more harm than good.

Once this is determined and the robots get the drift of it, the scientist are saying that we will be able to have “nanny” robots. Who in their right mind would leave their child with a computer-controlled machine? I personally would never feel comfortable leaving my child with a robot. Yeah, the robot might be able to get the necessities like getting them food and drinks, but they won’t be able to give the child that “mother” feeling. Try and picture back to when you were a small child. Weren’t you always attached to your parents? Especially your mom? She just had that warm-motherly feeling that you happened to love. Imagine trying to get that same feeling from a robot. It just wouldn’t be the same. Like when you fell down and got hurt, what was the first thing you wanted? Most likely your mom, right? She just automatically made you feel better. There is no way for a child to get that same warm-motherly feeling from a cold, metal, machine. Not only am I worried about the child not feeling comfortable with the robot, but it could also be harmful for the child. What if the robot was changing a diaper or getting the child dressed and the robot has a glitch, it could easily shock and injure the child. There is just no reason for leaving a child under only the supervision of a computer-controlled machine. It just sounds extremely risky to me.