Background and Aims: This research evaluated the effects of humanoid robots on improvement of eye contact in autistic children. Methods and Materials: This research used a multiple baseline, single-subject design with control to test 5 autistic children (2 girls and 3 boys) in Tehran during 2010. The children aged 7 to 9 years and were tested by Gilliam Autism Rating Scales (GARS) to ensure the presence of substantial autistic symptoms. A semi-automatic humanoid robotic doll with remote control was used in this study. A short scenario was designed for the primary experimental sessions before the main test. The scenario was established by 3 pilot sessions on an autistic child. We observed children for 15 sessions. The experimental sessions were held twice a week for 7 weeks. Each session lasted for 30 minutes, i.e. 15 minutes for eye contact between robot-human and 15 minutes to observe human-human eye contact development. All sessions were recorded by two cameras and finally rated by independent observers based on the number of seconds of human-human eye contact in each session. Findings: The results showed that the duration of eye contact increased during the course of 15 sessions. This change could have been resulted from the effect of the independent variable . Conclusion: Robots have been shown to be a catalyst to improve some skills in autistic children. However, they need to be further studied in order to be effectively employed as a therapeutic intervention. In addition, many children may require extensive therapy for years to improve their behavior and facilitate integration in society.
Aim and Background: Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with deficits in cognition and motor skills. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with the aim to investigate the effectiveness of sensory-motor integration on balance and reading performance in children with dyslexia. Methods and Materials: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest and control group. The study subjects consisted of 32 students with dyslexia in schools of Arak, Iran. The participants were randomly selected and assigned to the experimental (n = 16) and control groups (n = 16). The data collection tools were the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and Karami Nouri, and Moradi’s Reading Test. The experimental group participated in 12 sessions of the sensory-motor integration intervention program. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA. Findings: Sensory-motor integration significantly improved balance and reading performance scores of experimental group in posttest (P > 0.001). Conclusions: It seems that sensory-motor integration training is effective in the improvement of balance and reading performance of children with dyslexia. Thus, the consideration of these results and the mechanism of effect of this treatment method may have positive impact on the reduction of issues experienced by individuals with dyslexia.
