Neurodiverse Children Therapies That Teach And Are Supportive Using MOVIA’s TheraPal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgX9Tl2rQtY
tests. We have found that the system is very beneficial. We found an improvement in spontaneous and appropriate verbalizations. We see an increase in joint attention bids. Caregivers have reported an increase in engagement and compliance. Students have often achieved mastery of skills within grade-level goals that are set in the individualized education plan. Parents, teachers, and clinicians report the generalization of skills, meaning the individual demonstrates the learned skill or behavior in situations where the robot is not present. There was little evidence of novelty effect. The individuals remain engaged with the robot after months of interactions. BENEFITS OF RAI The benefits of Robot-Assisted Instruction are many and growing. We’re learning more every day. One of the things that has become clear is that it reduces the workload on teachers, parents, and therapists and increases their observation time. While the child focuses on the robot the facilitator can focus on the experience of the child. The robot leads the child through the different activities as the facilitator observes, supports, and
guides the system to the best effect. There is flexibility built-in, so the facilitator can adjust pacing or change other aspects of the intervention delivery. Data is collected by the system, freeing the therapist to work more closely with the child. RAI helps to reduce the anxiety and stress on the educators and students. The focus for the child is on the robot. It reduces the stress for the facilitator because they’re not needing to hold themselves so rigidly and to provide the interactions in a flat or emotionless way. The stress on the child is lowered because the robot, although very dynamic in its interactions, is very repetitive and predictable. This is an effective combination of these qualities. The robot does not do the same thing every time, but the robot does deliver instruction in a similar way each time. That similarity from session to session is calming and predictable, yet dynamic, and spontaneous. That predictability lowers the stress for the child while the robot’s neutral, non-judgmental voice, and the reliable positive interaction are very calming for the child. The child is motivated to work with the robot and finds it to be a pleasant experience. The child will spend more time on task, and this increased time on task leads to reduced time to
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