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arXiv · 1806.07805

Attitudes of Children with Autism towards Robots: An Exploratory Study

Andreia Costa·Tonie Schweich·Louise Charpiot·Georges Steffgen
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Abstract

In this exploratory study we assessed how attitudes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) towards robots together with children's autism-related social impairments are linked to indicators of children's preference of an interaction with a robot over an interaction with a person. We found that children with ASD have overall positive attitudes towards robots and that they often prefer interacting with a robot than with a person. Several of children's attitudes were linked to children's longer gazes towards a robot compared to a person. Autism-related social impairments were linked to more repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and to a shorter gaze duration in the interaction with the robot compared to the person. These preliminary results contribute to better understand factors that might help determine sub-groups of children with ASD for whom robots could be particularly useful.

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Andreia Costa, Tonie Schweich, Louise Charpiot, Georges Steffgen. 2018-05-29. Attitudes of Children with Autism towards Robots: An Exploratory Study. https://arxiv.org/abs/1806.07805

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