The Learning Spectrum will soon be a site for robotic social therapy through an exciting program called Robots4Autism.
Robots4Autism is a curriculum designed to teach social skills to school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The curriculum features a realistic, interactive robot named Milo.
Milo is a humanoid robot with a world-renowned facial expression and personality. He is highly effective at reaching and motivating children who have difficulty interacting or practicing social skills with people. Milo engages with children and delivers researched-based lessons that teach social behaviors.
By using a robot with natural looking facial expressions, children can interact and learn social skills without the added difficulty of it being completely social. They learn to understand the meaning behind emotions and expressions, and demonstrate appropriate social behaviors and responses.
According to Robots4Autism’s website, recent research show that children working with both a therapist and Milo are engaged 70-80% of the time, compared to just 3-10% of the time with traditional approaches.
Milo was developed by a company called RoboKind. The Robots4Autism curriculum was created by autism experts to provide educators, therapists and parents with an alternative way to teach social skills to children on the spectrum.
After completing the Robots4Autism curriculum, children acquire the skills to self-regulate, self-motivate, and participate in more activities with their peers and family members.
Children accepted into the Robots4Autism program on a private basis will receive two one-hour robotic social therapy sessions per week at TLS. There will be a percentage of TLS students who will be able to receive the robotic social therapy in exchange for the program’s use of a TLS site.
Robots4Autism will be introducing the robots to TLS on March 4, and therapy will start shortly after. Application information, fees and funding options will be available soon.
The Make it Fit Foundation is partnering with RoboKind to bring the Robots4Autism curriculum to children in Ohio. You can learn more about their partnership here.
For more information about Robots4Autism program and RoboKind, please visit their website. If you have any additional questions, please contact The Learning Spectrum at (614) 844-5433.