| Given evidence that some individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have greater interest or facility in interacting with mechanical than social elements of everyday life, there has been much interest in using robots as facilitators, scaffolds, or catalysts for social behavior within interventions. This dissertation presents evidence toward the clinical utility of interaction with robots for communication and social skills therapies for children with ASD. Specifically, we present novel, group-based, well-controlled observations of social behaviors produced by populations with ASD and with typical development (TD), during brief interactions with social robots. Importantly, we present evidence that a robot can elicit greater social interaction with an interventionist than can an asocial engaging technology, or another adult, suggesting that the appeal of a technology cannot alone mediate or elicit social behavior in children with ASD; rather, sociality must be entwined with interaction with the technology. In addition, we present evidence validating novel technologies and interaction designs that support the application of social robots to the specific domain of speech prosody therapy. Finally, this dissertation suggests systematic design guidelines promoting clinically effective collaborations between human-robot interaction scientists and clinical researchers and providers who support individuals with ASD. |
