Graded Cueing Feedback in Robot-Mediated Imitation Practice for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

A pilot study was conducted examining the effects of a humanoid robot giving the minimum required feedback – graded cueing – during an imitation game played with a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 12 high-functioning participants with ASD, ages 7 to 10, each played “Copy-Cat ” with a Nao robot 5 times over the span of 2.5 weeks. While the graded cueing model was not exercised in its fullest, using graded cueing-style feedback resulted in a nondecreasing trend in imitative accuracy when compared to a non-adaptive condition where participants always received the same, most descriptive feedback whenever they made a mistake. These trends show promise for future work with robots encouraging autonomy in special needs populations.