Brief Report: A Pilot Summer Robotics Camp to Reduce Social Anxiety and Improve Social/Vocational Skills in Adolescents with ASD

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 45; no. 12; pp. 3862 - 3869
• Main Authors: Kaboski, Juhi R., Diehl, Joshua John, Beriont, Jane, Crowell, Charles R., Villano, Michael, Wier, Kristin, Tang, Karen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Achievement Gains; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adults; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - rehabilitation; Autistic adolescents; Autistic children; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Brief Report; Care and treatment; Career Development; Case-Control Studies; Child and School Psychology; Comorbidity; Disability; Education, Special - methods; Female; Humans; Illnesses; Interpersonal Competence; Interpersonal Relations; Intervention; Job Skills; Knowledge Level; Male; Neurosciences; Outcomes of Treatment; Pediatrics; Peer Group; Peers; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Phobic Disorders - prevention & control; Phobic Disorders - therapy; Pilot Projects; Psychology; Public Health; Risk factors; Robotics; Robotics - methods; Secondary Education; Skill Development; Social anxiety; Social aspects; Social interaction; Social Skills; Summer; Summer Programs; Teaching Methods; Teenagers; Victimization; Vocational Education; Young Children; United States; Intervention; Vocational; Treatment; Social skills; Autism spectrum disorder; Robotics
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2153-3

This pilot study evaluated a novel intervention designed to reduce social anxiety and improve social/vocational skills for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The intervention utilized a shared interest in robotics among participants to facilitate natural social interaction between individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) peers. Eight individuals with ASD and eight TD peers ages 12–17 participated in a weeklong robotics camp, during which they learned robotic facts, actively programmed an interactive robot, and learned “career” skills. The ASD group showed a significant decrease in social anxiety and both groups showed an increase in robotics knowledge, although neither group showed a significant increase in social skills. These initial findings suggest that this approach is promising and warrants further study.