Social Robots in Education to Enhance Social Communications and Interaction Skills of Children with Autism - A Review

Abstract

Social robots are a promising educational assistive tool for enhancing social interaction and empowering learning capability in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Objective: This article reviews the use of social robots in education to enhance the social communication and interaction skills of children with autism. Methods: Twenty-two articles were identified and later analysed and synthesised. This study is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guide- lines. Results: The literature addresses several benefits of using social robots for children with ASD to enhance communication and interaction skills in children with ASD. These include human-like appearance acceptance, increased gesture and eye contact, structured learning and repetition, interpersonal synchronisation and emotions, use of interactive scenarios, reinforced behaviour and reward, ASD level and diagnosis. However, there are challenges also mentioned in the literature. Conclusion: The use of social robots in children with ASD is still in the early research phase and has been shown to provide several benefits for chil- dren with ASD. However, it is essential to consider the children's autism level before expecting any positive results from robotic intervention. In addition, sev- eral ethical challenges and implications must be considered before fully imple- menting social robots for children with ASD.