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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.

Keywords: Autism, Humanoid robot, Eye Contact.

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