Robótica socialmente assistiva no ensino de habilidades emocionais para crianças com transtorno do espectro autista

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects the development of communication and social interaction from early childhood, and its diagnosis has significantly increased in the last decade. Early intervention is crucial for the development of affected skills. To this end, various therapeutic approaches have been used to evolve specific areas in children with ASD. Among these approaches, robotics has shown promising results in therapies for autistic children. However, it is still necessary to improve the robots’ ability to express emotions, stimulate physical and visual contact, and adapt to the spe- cific learning difficulties of each individual. In this context, this work proposes a robotic platform for teaching emotional skills to children diagnosed with ASD. The robot has a carefully designed appearance to be sensed as friendly and appealing to children, it is capable of expressing emotions and sounds, as well as conducting dynamics and educational games focusing on emotions. Additionally, it collects data to self-adapt the teaching process based on developmental progress. Therefore, the proposed platform aims to contribute to the teaching of emotional skills, providing a therapeutic environment that can be perceived as welcoming, efficient, and personalized.