Development of Interaction Scenarios Based on Pre-school Curriculum in Robotic Intervention for Children with Autism

Abstract This research deals with the fundamental study on the social effects of robotic interaction to children with autism. Autism is a developmental disorder caused by abnormal development of the brain. It is characterized by deficits in social and communication skills and also behavior stereotypies. Robotic intervention has been identified as one of the methods that are producing encouraging outcome in the rehabilitation of children with autism. The main purpose of this project is to design interactive scenarios according to its level of complexity using a humanoid robot based on the pre-school curriculum for children with special needs by the Ministry of Education Malaysia. Expertise from related field including rehabilitation and special education are involved to ensure that the scenarios’ designs meet the requirement and needs of children with autistic characteristics. Focusing on language skills, the interaction aims to facilitate autistic children who face difficulties in communication and socializing. This shall help them to express themselves better to their peers and other people.