THE USE ROBOTICS IN THE INTERVENTION WITH CHILDREN WITH ASD IN MACAO: A PILOT STUDY WITH MILO

Abstract

ROBOTICS ARE BEING USED IN THE INTERVENTION WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) IN MANY PLACES AND ALREADY FOR MANY YEARS. MANY ROBOTS WERE DEVELOPED AND DIFFERENT STUDIES ARE BEING MADE IN ORDER TO EVALUATE ITS EFFECTIVENESS. “SOCIALLY ASSISTIVE ROBOTICS” IS SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN DIFFERENT AREAS MAINLY IN SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT. MILO, A ROBOT DEVELOPED BY A TEAM LED BY RICHARD MARGOLIN FOR THE ROBOTS4AUTISM PROGRAM (ROBOKIND, 2020), IS ONE OF THE ROBOTS WHOSE USE IS REPORTED TO BE SUCCESSFUL. IN MACAO THERE IS NO REPORT OF STUDIES OR EXPERIENCES ON THE USE OF ROBOTS IN THE INTERVENTION WITH CHILDREN WITH ASD. IN A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MACAO SCIENCE CENTRE, THE MACAO AUTISM ASSOCIATION (MAA) AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH, AN EXPLORATORY STUDY WAS DEVELOPED TO UNDERSTAND THE APPLICABILITY OF MILO TO THE WORK WITH CHILDREN WITH ASD IN MACAO. THE STUDY SHOWED THAT THE ROBOT IS ABLE TO FACILITATE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCES OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. HOWEVER, SEVERAL LIMITATIONS INCLUDING LANGUAGE, CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, THE INEXPERIENCED FACILITATORS AND THE LEVEL OF SESSIONS ARE TOO SIMPLE FOR THE PARTICIPANTS TO BE AWARE OF THAT MAY AFFECT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVENTION. IT IS IMPORTANT TO SHOW THAT THE ADOPTION OF MILO IN MACAO FOR INTERVENING CHILDREN WITH ASD CAN BE FURTHER IMPLEMENTED, WITH BETTER PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.