Ten Discoveries by a Technologist Learning About autism

I became engaged with the intersection of autism and technology by way of humanoid robots. I wanted to answer two questions about what is emerging as ‘robot-mediated behavior intervention’ for autism. Does it work? Does it have a meaningful and lasting impact? In attempting to answer these questions I thought it would be a good starting point to bring together the leading researchers and clinicians to share their findings and insights. To that end, I set out to host a workshop on these very questions. The resulting participation was world class, and the amount of interest in viewing this workshop ‘live’ by individuals from around the world was amazing. The full workshop can be viewed at www.rmbiworkshop.com.

In this workshop we also focused on two of the leading robots already being used in almost 400 robot mediated-behavior situations. The world class level of researchers, and their research programs and clinical studies are making significant contributions to the understanding this discipline.

What have I learned thus far? Candidly, this discovery exercise has opened many unexpected dimensions for further considerations.

1. It seems that we are on the cusp of understanding that those with autism should not be classed as disadvantaged. They are by definition, autistic people, and should be seen and understood as such and not somehow categorized into a group that is labeled as disadvantaged.
2. Autism is a lifelong issue and is not only ‘a child’ focused matter.
3. You cannot paint every autistic child as the same, or similar as the next. Just as each person cannot be classified as ‘common’ they too are each unique – just as every person is unique.
4. That there is an observable and joyful outcome for children who have the opportunity to engage with a non-threatening, ‘tirelessly responsive’ robot. The children like robots. It helps them become engaged, happy and responsive.
5. The positive impacts sustain themselves even once the robot mediated behavior ceases.
6. The robots serve as a powerful mediation element that can help calm those ‘frustration and rage’ moments – especially in school class rooms.
7. Fundamental learning is advanced.
8. We can learn and measure by observing the child’s interactions and actually measure a child’s positive engagement progress.
9. Robots can be used by non-technicians in a therapeutic manner.
10. Robots can help ‘unlock’ children and the robots will continuously improve as a behavior mediation platform.

So, I am encouraged about what I have discovered thus far and remain committed that my passion for advancing robot based technology in autism is well founded.

Mike Radice is Chairman of the Technology Advisory Board for ChartaCloud | Robotteca. More can be seen at www.robotteca.com