Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Training Autistic Children on Joint Attention Skills with a Robot

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Social Robotics (ICSR 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 11357))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have issues with the development of social skills and communication. One such skills is that of joint attention (JA). JA is the sharing of attention between two people in regards to an object. There are two mechanism of JA, initiating joint attention (IJA) and responding to joint attention (RJA). This article details an experiment wherein a social robot was used to train children with ASD on their JA skills. This experiment contained a robot training group and a control group. Both groups’ JA skills were tested before and after training with the robot (or a waiting period for the control group). The groups did not significantly differ on their pre-tests scores for RJA or IJA. The training group had significant improvements in both their IJA and RJA scores, while the control group did not have significant improvements. However, the groups did not significantly differ on their post-test scores for either RJA or IJA.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edn. Author, Washington, DC (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Meindl, J., Cannella-Malone, H.: Initiating and responding to joint attention bids in children with autism: a review of the literature. Res. Dev. Disabil. 32(5), 1441–1454 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2011.02.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mundy, P., Sigman, M., Kasari, C.: A longitudinal study of joint attention and language development in autistic children. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 20(1), 115–128 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Whalen, C., Schreibman, L.: Joint attention training for children with autism using behavior modification procedures. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 44(3), 456–468 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Charman, T.: Why is joint attention a pivotal skill in autism? Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London. Ser. Biol. Sci. 358(1430), 315–324 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Leekam, S.R., López, B., Moore, C.: Attention and joint attention in preschool children with autism. Dev. Psychol. 36(2), 261–273 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.36.2.261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mundy, P., Crowson, M.: Joint attention and early social communication; implications for research on intervention with autism. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 27(6), 653–676 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Moore, C., Dunham, P.J.: Joint Attention: Its Origins and Role in Development. Psychology Press, New York (2014)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Taylor, B.A., Hoch, H.: Teaching children with autism to respond to and initiate bids for joint attention. J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 41(3), 377–391 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2008.41-377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cabibihan, J.J., Javed, H., Ang Jr., M., Aljunied, S.: Why robots? A survey on the roles and benefits of social robots in the therapy of children with autism. Int. J. Soc. Robot. 5(4), 593–618 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-013-0202-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dautenhahn, K.: Roles and functions of robots in human society: implications from research in autism therapy. Robotica 21(04), 443–452 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0263574703004922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Scassellati, B., Admoni, H., Matarić, M.: Robots for use in autism research. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 14(1), 275–294 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071811-150036

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kajopoulos, J., Wong A.H.Y., Zuen, A.W.C., Dung, T.A., Tan, Y.K., Wykowska, A.: Robot-assisted training of joint attention skills in children diagnosed with autism. Accepted for presentation at ICSR 2015, to be published in LNAI 2015 (2105)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mundy, P., Delgado, C., Block, J., Venezia, M., Hogan, A., Seibert, J.: A manual for the abridged early social communication scale (ESCS) (2003)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Ignition Grant (grant number: ING149087-ICT). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. A*STAR, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #20-10 Connexis North Tower, Singapore, 138632, Singapore

    Kelsey Carlson, Alvin Hong Yee Wong, Tran Anh Dung, Anthony Chern Yuen Wong & Yeow Kee Tan

  2. Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University, Leopoldstr. 13, 80802, Munich, Germany

    Kelsey Carlson

  3. Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy

    Agnieszka Wykowska

Authors
  1. Kelsey Carlson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alvin Hong Yee Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tran Anh Dung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anthony Chern Yuen Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yeow Kee Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Agnieszka Wykowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelsey Carlson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Shuzhi Sam Ge

  2. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    John-John Cabibihan

  3. University Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel A. Salichs

  4. Canterbury University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Elizabeth Broadbent

  5. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, USA

    Hongsheng He

  6. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Alan R. Wagner

  7. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Álvaro Castro-González

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Carlson, K., Wong, A.H.Y., Dung, T.A., Wong, A.C.Y., Tan, Y.K., Wykowska, A. (2018). Training Autistic Children on Joint Attention Skills with a Robot. In: Ge, S., et al. Social Robotics. ICSR 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11357. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05204-1_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05204-1_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05203-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05204-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation