Autism Spectrum disorder is recognized as a neuro-developmental disorder with a multifactorial etiology and variable manifestations. It is observed in most people with autism experience : difficulties in communication and social interaction, and a restricted and stereotyped character of behavior, interests and activities (NAS, 2003). More broadly these symptoms affect the integration of people with autism in school, in the professional world, and in society. Helping people with autism to develop their social skills is therefore an important issue in the care that is offered to them. Moreover, it has been proven that appropriate support and effective therapeutic intervention in the early years of their life are essential to improve the overall performance of autisctic children (Hamzah, Shamsuddin, Miskam, Yussof, & Hashim, 2014).
Besides, given the importance of the characteristic disturbances of autism, specific treatments and many programs of therapies are developed to accompany them to their autonomy. This includes the use of interactive systems that are used in therapy or education with autistic persons (Begum, Serna, Yanco, 2016). This allows to improve the social and cognitive skills of children with autism. Studies about the use of the robot as a therapeutic mediator are currently in full expansion and are identified as one of the most encouraging and productive methods in the rehabilitation of children with autism (Hamzah et al. 2014). Beyond its playful interest, the robot is now used for therapeutic purposes. Many practitioners also point out that “robot-assisted therapy” or “robotherapy” is conducive to the creation of a therapeutic alliance. The aim of the current review is to observe if there is a link between “robotherapy” and better communication and interactions among adolescents. So we conducted this study in partnership with Rob’autisme.
What is Rob’autisme ?
This is an association conceived and carried out by Rénald Gaboriau (speech-language pathologist and PhD student). It takes place every wednesday at the same time and at the same place during one hour. It was conducted on 6 teenagers diagnosed with autism by the CRA (Centre Ressources Autisme). The setting up of these sessions was motivated for adolescents, by creating a show involving robots based on the story “ Une histoire à 4 voix” (Browne, 2007). Finally, these sessions were closed by the show by the teenagers. Every other wednesday alternatly adolescents participate in robotic sessions (Nao robots are present and they program robots in pairs: voice and movement, accompanied by an adult) or non-robotic sessions (robots aren’t present and they are in large group. They participate at games based on their interests and hobbies and prepare the sets and record the robot’s voices for the show).
Objective :
The aim of this study was to highlight that non-robotic sessions as well as robotic’s offered by the Rob’Autisme experience allow the improvement of communication and social interaction in autistic adolescents, during the sessions and outside, especially through the joint attention process. In other words, the interest of our study focused on the generalization of the behaviors learned within the robotic and non-robotic sessions, in the external reality offered by the everyday life (e.g. At school, during hobbies, in the family environment…). Thus, reflecting a learning process by robot mediation.
Hypotheses :
Our first hypothesis was to observe whether the joint attention around the use of the robot as a mediator (during robotic workshops), played a role on the disorders of interaction and social communication in adolescents with autism.
Our second hypothesis concerned the preparation sessions. We hypothesized that the preparation sessions in which the joint attention is created, impacted the interaction and the communication in the autistic adolescents. This notably through the realization of cooperative games and triadic interactions (Cabibihan et al. 2013).
Finally, our last hypothesis tried to highlight the joint influence of preparation sessions and robotic sessions on interaction and social communication in autistic adolescents. This, outside sessions through the parents’ feedback.
Method :
The study was conducted with six male adolescents. They are on average 13 years old. In addition, these sessions was held in the presence of Rénald Gaboriau, two students in speech-language therapy and another PhD student in semiology. There was also a robotic specialist during the robotic sessions. The realization of the sessions convene the use of three Nao robots, all of the same color completed with three identical computers using the software “Chorégraphe”. Data was collected in three different ways: observation of video recordings of sessions, audio recordings of professional debriefings and audio recordings of interviews with the parents of the adolescents. The evaluation protocol was carried out in collaboration with Rénald Gaboriau and led to the co-creation of an observation grid and an interview guide for interviews with parents of adolescents.
Results :
The results highlight an evolution of interactions and communication among adolescents. They latter arrived at the formation of a group where spontaneous exchanges, conversations, self-initiated interactions and rituals of greetings were created. As for the learning process outside the sessions, it would appear that interactions and communication increase during the sessions and stagnate a few weeks after the end of the Rob’autisme experience and the realization of the show.
Conclusion :
As a conclusion the robot as a therapeutic mediator influences adolescents’ interactions and communication from the Rob’autisme experiment. However there might be external factors that influence these results (e.g. Hobbies, school, other therapy…). To clarify our results, a three-year longitudinal study is underway. The question that we could ask at the end of this study, would be to know if the increase of the interactions and the communication in these adolescents is due to the robot or is it only by the framing of the group? Are there other factors ?
Keywords : robotic, autism, adolescents, therapeutic mediation, joint attention
Words I Have Learned :
paternship : partenariat
therapeutic mediation : médiation thérapeutique
speech-language pathologist : orthophoniste
setting up : mise en place
greetings : salutations
Noémie Grison – M2 PCPI
Biblio:
Begum, M., Serna, R. W. & Yanco, H. A. (2016). Are robots ready to deliver autism interventions ? A comprehensive review. International journal of social robotics, 8(2), 157-181. doi : 10.1007/s12369-016-0346-y
Browne, A. (2007). Une histoire à quatre voix. Paris, France : Ecole des loisirs.
Cabibihan, J. J., Javed, H., Ang Jr, M. & Aljunied, S. M. (2013). Why Robots ? A survey on the roles and benefits of social robots for the therapy of children with autism. International journal of social robotics, 5(4), 593-618. doi 10.1007/s12369-013-0202-2
Gaboriau, R. & Sakka, S. (2017). Le robot comme médiateur thérapeutique : une expérience auprès de jeunes autistes. Tétralogiques, 22, 249-261.
NAS (2003). National Autistic Society, UK. Récupéré le 18 décembre 2017 à l’adresse http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asd.aspx
Hamzah, M., Shamsuddin, S., Miskam, M.A., Yussof, H. & Hashim, K. S. (2014). Development of interaction scenarios based on pre-school curriculum in robotic intervention for children with autism. Sciences direct, 42 , 214-221.