Nao with autistic children: a companion worth watching

Marion DUBOIS-SAGE, Doctoral Student, Université Paris 8, CHArt Laboratory, France

The use of robots seems relevant for the accompaniment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Six autistic children were placed in repeated interaction with a NAO robot or with a human in a gesture imitation activity. The results show that the children looked significantly longer at the robot than at the human, indicating that the NAO robot is effective in attracting the attention of autistic children.