Therapeutic Robot to Teach Social Skills to Primary School Children with ASD

描述(由申请人提供)：项目摘要/摘要：该项目是减轻与自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)相关的负担和残疾的长期努力的一部分。大多数被诊断为自闭症的成年人和青少年并没有智力障碍，他们的语言能力值得注意，在许多情况下，语言能力似乎是完好无损的。然而，这些人无法取得与他们的智力水平一致的职业成功，而且可能无法在家庭之外建立友谊和关系。该项目的具体目标是开发一种培训模拟，以提高这些人参与社交对话的能力。具备基本的会话技能后，自闭症患者可能会获得更多的互动机会，并提高他们的人际关系质量。申请者正在使用它最初开发的技术来为专门的社交互动创建训练模拟(例如，用于面试者检测士兵的自杀风险)。训练模拟基于模拟角色的情绪状态变化的复杂模型，该模型响应于对话的历史、用户的最新反应以及机会元素。该模拟包括一个由专业演员表演的数百个视频片段的数据库，以及一大组可供用户说话或通过鼠标点击进行选择的回复。该系统提供帮助功能，对模拟角色的反应进行直接解释，并提供响应选择的指导；屏幕上的教练，提供公开信号以响应用户的反应选择的适当性；回放选项，以便用户可以查看部分或全部交互；以及游戏功能：为成功得分和为提高分数并最终实现游戏目标而欢呼，同意模拟角色与用户进行另一次会面。模拟内容将由申请者熟练的剧本编写者开发，并由天主教大学的自闭症研究人员提供意见，然后在录像之前由ASD的三名研究和临床专家以及一名患有ASD的先生审阅。将对目标人群中的10名成员进行可用性实地测试。代表他们使用模拟及其功能的数据将被自动记录下来，他们将回答一份汇报问卷。所提出的任何修改都将纳入为第二阶段供资提议的更广泛的模拟中。项目简介：该项目将改装一个名为CosmoBot的治疗性玩具机器人，以便让患有严重社交障碍的自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童参与促进社交技能发展的活动。该玩具机器人将配备一套游戏程序，治疗师可以从中进行选择。两个地点的治疗师将对10名有这些障碍的小学生进行治疗玩具及其社交游戏的测试，以评估该系统的易用性，它对儿童的吸引力有多大，以及它是否对儿童的社交技能有积极影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary/Abstract: This project is part of a long-term effort to reduce the burdens and disability associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The majority of adults and adolescents who have an ASD diagnosis do not have mental retardation, and are notable for their language abilities, which in many cases appear intact. Nevertheless, these individuals fail to achieve vocational success consonant with their intellectual level, and may be unable to form friendships and relationships outside their family. The specific aim of the project is to develop a training simulation to improve these individuals' ability to participate in social conversation. Equipped with basic conversational skills, individuals with ASD may gain more opportunities to interact and improve the quality of their relationships. The applicant is using technology it originally developed to create training simulations for specialized social interactions (e.g., for an interviewer to detect suicide risk in a soldier). The training simulation is based on a complex model of the simulated character's shifting emotional state in response to the history of the conversation, the user's most recent response, and an element of chance. The simulation includes a database of hundreds of video clips performed by a professional actor, and a large set of responses available for the user to speak or select by mouse click. The system offers help features, with straightforward explanations of the simulated character's reactions, and guidance with response choice; an on-screen coach who provides overt signals in response to the appropriateness of the user's response choice; playback options, so that the user can review parts or all of an interaction; and game features: points for success and cheering for improved scores and ultimately achieving the game's objective, agreement of the simulated character to another meeting with the user. The simulation content will be developed by the applicant's skilled script-writers with input from an autism researcher from Catholic University, then reviewed prior to video by three research and clinical specialists in ASD and a gentleman who himself has ASD, prior to videotaping. Usability field-testing will be conducted with 10 members of the target population. Data representing their use of the simulation and its features will be automatically logged, and they will respond to a debriefing questionnaire. Any modifications indicated will be incorporated into the more extensive simulation to be proposed for Phase II funding. Project Narrative: This project will adapt a therapeutic toy robot, CosmoBot, in order to engage children with severe social delays associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in activities to promote development of social skills. The toy robot will be equipped with sets of game programs from which therapists can choose. Therapists in 2 locations will test the therapeutic toy and its social games with 10 primary-school-aged children who have these impairments, in order to evaluate how easy the system is to use, how much it appeals to the children, and whether it has positive effects on children's social skills.