Download introduction - WordPress.com

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
Artificial Intelligence and Children with Autism:
How Children with Autism can benefit from AI Technologies.
Herminia Paredes
Spring 2016
CECS 5300.080
1
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
2
Abstract
With the advancement of artificial intelligence technology, much of the emerging research has
focused on the potential for implementation in education. The advantage of artificial
intelligence is the ability to develop applications or tools that address specific needs of
individuals with autism or other disabilities. With the increase frequency of children born
with autism, early detection and interventions are critical for their future development and
quality of life. Studies have shown that children with autism have positive reactions when
interacting or engaging with robots and other interactive, multi-sensory technologies. We will
discuss the behaviors of children with autism and how the use of artificial intelligence
technology can improve their behavior, speech, and social interaction skills.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, autism, robots, autism behavior
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
3
INTRODUCTION
In education, we have seen more and more technology implemented in the classroom
and it has become an integral part of the learning environment. However, for students with
special needs, such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) where traditional teaching
techniques are not effective, researchers using interdisciplinary methodologies have
developed specialized robots and software, with individualized programs, that the meet the
specific needs of these students. We will be discussing: what is artificial intelligence, what is
autism, what are needs and challenges of an autistic child and how can artificial intelligence
and other interactive multi-modal technologies be used to enrich and fulfill the needs of these
children in the classroom.
With the advancement of technology, the use of artificial intelligence has improved
our quality of life in so many ways. Its use is all around us but we hardly notice its presence,
it runs unobtrusively performing many simple mundane tasks, it entertains us and can even
park our cars. Because of these emerging technologies there are many products or services
which can potentially give adults with autism the opportunity to live independently, to have a
better quality of life and provide additional support to keep them save.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Robotics and human-computer interaction technology is a challenging research field
which combines multi-interdisciplinary fields in engineering, computer science, psychology,
cognitive science, engineering, and other social sciences (Dautenhahn, 2007). Much of the
foundation of robotics is aligned with recreating in essence human intelligence but it must be
understood, robots are not people.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
4
Human intelligence is fundamentally rooted in social intelligence which is why
researchers have put so much effort in providing robots with human characteristics and
qualities. Facial expressions add an emotional element to verbal and non-verbal interactions.
The linguistic communication is essential for a ‘natural interface’ and inflection and tone of
voice is carefully developed. It is unlikely, that artificial intelligence will ever develop to the
point that a robot will have the ability to cope with and internalize all of the idiosyncratic,
erratic and unusual human behaviors that most people develop over a lifetime (Dautenhahn,
2007).
However, researchers strive to develop robots with physical characteristics and
behaviors that lead to the potential of effectively using robots and other artificial technologies
as a therapeutic intermediate for people with disabilities. There is extensive research
specifically for those affected with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how this
technology can effectively be used to address their underlining issues with communication
and social interaction. It is important understand Autism in order to expand on the types of
systems that are being developed (Aresti-Bartolome & Garcia-Zapirain, 2014).
AUTISM
Autism is development disorder that manifests in different ways and in different
degrees of severity. According to the The Autism Society of America (2016), 1 in 66 births
results in autism. What causes autism is still unclear, the general consensus is that it may be a
combination of genetics and potentially an environmental factor or illness, it is the fastest
growing development disorder with a 30% rise from 1 in 88 in 2012 (Center for Disease
Control and Prevention[CDC]. 2015). Studies indicate that early diagnosis and addressing
development issues early can make significant impact in their later development. However,
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
5
they will still likely need additional interventions for their entire academic life and it will cost
an additional $8,600 per year added to the $12,000 that is normally spent for each child
(Lavelle et al., 2014). Of course, the immeasurable cost to the families with the additional
stress and in most cases the added responsibility of providing life-long care of children with
autism cannot be ignored.
There are major three areas of behavior that are most affected: difficulty in
socialization, lacking social communication and having very little imagination (The Autism
Society of America [ASA]. (2016). They have difficulty interacting with others and will
demonstrate lack of eye contact or joining. Because they are unable make eye contact, they
miss most of the usual social cues needed to follow a normal (back and forth) verbal
conversation and are often mistaken as being indifferent or intellectually challenged. Because
they lack the necessary decoding social communications skills, such as: the ability to
understand facial expressions, common gestures or to correctly interpret variations in voice
modality, they often face suffer from isolation and are unable to live independently. Because
they do not develop imaginative skills, they take every situation very literal, have limited
problem solving skills and can become easily upset when their expectations are not met. Other
symptoms can include: non-verbal, echolalia (repetition of words heard by others), speaking
in monotone, rocking, or compulsive/repetitive motions (CDC, 2015). The first step is to
design technologies which can focus on the strengths and weaknesses of Autism and make it
possible to create controlled environments and effective methodologies which address the
underlining behaviors.
ROBIC DESIGN
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
6
Using human-like robots to train autistic children is a growing research field which
uses the techniques and teaching approaches developed using the Applied Behavior Analyses
(ABA) to develop behavioral interventions to improve socialization and communication skills
(Barakova, & Lourens, 2003). It is an interdisciplinary project that goes far beyond the
physical creation of the robot. The real work is bringing together the ingenuity and
knowledge of robotic behavior engineers and researchers in human-robot interaction, child
psychologists, and therapists.
The developmental success of this type of intervention primarily consists of
determining and meeting the needs of the therapist and the potential benefits for the child
from interacting with a robot (Robins, Dautenhahn, & Dickerson, 2009). For the therapist, the
practicality and reliability of the technology is essential. They must have the ability to
customize the programming: to meet the individual needs of each child, to integrate real life
scenarios when needed, and to make adjusts “on the fly” to overcome unexpected situations
(Barakova, & Lourens, 2003). For the child, the robot must be designed to demonstrate
intelligent behaviors that initiate engagement from the child, such as: recognition of
instructions, manipulation of objects, collaboration and decision making.
With the advancement of newer technology, we are starting to see more and more
options available. One such product is called the NAO; it is a robot that is design with
software which specifically targets the needs of children with autism (Feng, 2004). One of
the most notable social behaviors that autistic children exhibit is the inability to maintain eye
contact with other people. This can have long term negative drawbacks to the social
development of the child. The NAO has sensors and face recognition software which can
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
7
detect when child is not looking directly at it and it verbally tries to re-establish eye contact to
modify this behavior.
Autistic children are also unable to correctly interpret other people’s facial expressions
or to gage emotions correctly. This makes it difficult for them to show empathy for others and
maintain extended social interactions with others (Feng, 2004). Two notable robots that can
aid children with this behavior are the ZENO robot and the interactive SAM virtual peer. The
ZENO is life size humanoid that mimics human emotions and engages students with stories
that demonstrate the emotions it expresses. The SAM on the other hand engages students
prompting them to tell a story and uses verbal cues and by facial expressions to improve their
verbal communication skills (Tartaro & Cassell, (2007). This technology is actually
developing very quickly with more products available in the market but one that may be more
readily accessible is the virtual reality technology because it can be accessed from home.
VIRTUAL REALITY
The use of virtual technology or Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
has been used to create environments which can help people with Autism by providing
multisensory stimulation scenarios. These programs are designed to encourage them to
interact with others (virtually) and to perform low risk tasks with clear instructions and
opportunities for mistakes. Since, a common symptom of autism is an aversion to visual or
tactile stimulus which often leads to sensory overload or lack of emotional control. This
environment lessens the frustration level they might normally exhibit if they were interacting
with real people (Aresti-Bartolome & Garcia-Zapirain, 2014).
One of the social interactions scenarios that were developed is one that took the
student to a mall where they were given the following tasks: to walk around, to look on the
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
8
map and find a food court and to order some food. The program was designed to provide
adaptability as the needs of the student changed or to compensate for their behavior on that
day. For example, more or less people walking around the mall could be modified, tasks to
purchase items could be added or they could interact with someone else (Aresti-Bartolome &
Garcia-Zapirain, 2014).
Other scenarios geared towards older students, whose objectives were to improving
verbal and socials skills involved going to a job interview or going to coffee shop. For
younger students, there were scenarios which showed them how to navigate crossing the
street, walking to school or going to the school cafeteria (Parsons, Leonard, & Mitchell,
2006). The possibilities are endless and the adaptability of the scenarios allowed the
flexibility to meet the students needs and gave them the opportunity to improve their social
skills the more they used it. There are those who felt that this type of interaction actually
allowed the students to remain isolated but the results showed that the students actually
carried over their experiences by verbalizing to their peers and family what they had done,
which showed that their social skills were improving (Parsons, Leonard, & Mitchell, 2006).
OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
There are other technologies or applications that can be used on computers, smart
phones or tablets that can be used as communication tools to improve social learning,
communication skills, and cognitive development for those with autism. One program
presented as a game was designed with the objective of developing attention skills by having
to point to objects which is very important skill when dealing with autistic children because
they struggle with signaling directly to an object. This technology has proven to be useful and
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
9
they began incorporating more educational subjects like learning colors and identifying
shapes with good results. (Chanchalor & Chusinkunawut, 2013).
There is still more research being done with different software companies which have
developed software programs which demonstrate facial expressions and the child is asked to
identify the expression. There are mixed results, mostly because it is difficult to keep the
attention long enough to evaluate if the programs can really be effective in the in the long
term and improving these skills. At this point, robots show more promise since children are
more drawn to the physicality of the robot and they are more willing to interact with them for
longer periods of time.
ROBOTICS
Artificial intelligence and robotics has made incredible advances in recent years. The new
technology shows great potential to assist people with autism. Children with autism relate
better to artificial agents it could be because they show predictability. It can be speculated that
they make the environment and experience less stressful for these children who are often
uncomfortable with most social interactions (Davydenko, 2012). Research has shown that
children make more eye contact and ask more questions from a robot that they do with a
human therapist.
Robots have show that they can improve certain communication behaviors such and
improving eye to eye contact. This has been achieved by installing face recognition software
and other optic sensors which can recognize the child’s face. The robot then calls the child by
name and initiates the interaction. It will ask pre-determined questions and will monitor if the
child is looking (making eye contact). If not, the robot will redirect the child’s attention and it
also has lights which flash to draw back the child’s attention (Salisbury, 2013). A therapist
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
10
who is present will also redirect the child if necessary. This technology is a great asset
because it engages the child’s attention for longer periods of time and provides much of the
added practice time that is necessary for learning. This research program has expanded to
developing more role playing and sharing intervention systems (Salisbury, 2013). Robotics
show promising progress therapeutic mediators but there are other types of mediators are also
being researched to assist in communicating with autistic children.
MEDIATORS
Unfortunately, children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abuse and are
four times more likely to be a victimized than children without disabilities ((Wood et al.,
2013). The victim’s inability to effectively communicate the abuse makes prosecutions less
likely. Research in social robotics has shown that both typical children and children with
special needs react positively when interacting with robots as therapeutic or educational aids
(Robins, Dautenhahn, & Dickerson, 2009)
This has lead to more research in using robots, specifically with autistic children, as mediators
or interviewers in order to overcome the communication challenges. One such study,
consisted of interviewing five students with autism, between ages 9 to 11 years old; they were
first interviewed by a human interviewer and then by a robot interviewer. The most significant
result was that three of the children with the severest communication problems actively
engaged more with the robot than they did with the human interviewer (Wood et al., 2013).
It is assumed that these occurred because children felt more comfortable and were drawn to a
more qualitative and prolonged interaction with the robot.
Although, this was small in its scope the study does show some promise and more
research needs to be conducted. Interviewing children is always a challenge, however using a
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
11
robotic interviewer with, specifically autistic, children have difficulties interacting with
strangers and a robot may be less intimidating. Because we often underestimate how
perceptive are children, an interviewer may unconsciously be perceived to be influencing the
outcome of the interview through: body language, facial expressions or tone of voice. A
robotic interview may offer an impartial alternative leading to more prosecutions (Wood et
al., 2013).
CONCLUSION:
Technology has become a way of life; it is all around us and helps us navigate through
our daily lives. It is only natural that it has found its way into our educational system and that
it has the potential to help those that have special needs such as children with autism. This
not to say, that they can replace human interaction nor should they be seen as a solution to
how we these children are taught or treated. However, the unique characterizes of autism the
inability to communicate effectively and the social disconnect needs be address in an
unorthodox methodology. There is also the need to find effective methods to communicate
with them when there is a possibility of abuse. There are moral and ethical questions that will
arise but I do believe that these issues have more to do with our discomfort than the child’s. It
is up to us to ensure their safe is first and that we do everything we can to live happy
productive lives. Throughout history there have always been the naysayers who balk at every
technological advancement and we have been able to muddle through it and are better for it.
REFERENCES:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
Aresti-Bartolome, N., & Garcia-Zapirain, B. (2014). Technologies as support tools for
persons with autistic spectrum disorder: a systematic review. International
journal of environmental research and public health, 11(8), 7767-7802.
Barakova, E., & Lourens, T. (2013). Interplay between natural and artificial intelligence in
training autistic children with robots. In Natural and Artificial Models in
Computation and Biology (pp. 161-170). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. DOI
10.1007/978-3-642- 38637-4_17
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC ]. (2015). Retrieved February 12,
2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html
Chanchalor, S., & Chusinkunawut, K., (2013) Integrated Learning of Autistics in Primary
School through Computer. International Conference on Information, Business and
Education Technology (ICIBIT ’13).
Dautenhahn, K. (2007). Methodology and themes of human-robot interaction: a growing
research field. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems.
Davydenko, E. A., (2012). Artificial Intelligence in Education of Children with Learning
Disabilities. Retreived from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s
&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjTqa_w-ZHLAhVB22M
KHTC7Aj0QFggfMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.unm.edu%2F~pdevineni
%2Fpapers%2FDavydenko.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEc3uigh9OHzp7JWP6hr6o_xU2c
A&sig2=0aei3xrOkh UbOQ- Az8Lh0g&bvm=bv.115277099,d.cGc
Feng, H. (2014). Studying Eye Gaze of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in
Interaction with a Social Robot (Doctoral dissertation, University of Denver).
Retrieved February 12, 2016, from http://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi
12
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
13
/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=etd
Lavelle, T. A., Weinstein, M. C., Newhouse, J. P., Munir, K., Kuhlthau, K. A., & Prosser,
L. A. (2014). Economic burden of childhood autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics,
133(3), e520-e529.
Parsons, S., Leonard, A., & Mitchell, P. (2006). Virtual environments for social skills
training: Comments from two adolescents with autistic spectrum disorder. Comput.
Educ.,47, 186–206.
Robins, B., Dautenhahn, K., & Dickerson, P. (2009). From Isolation to Communication: A
Case Study Evaluation of Robot Assisted Play for Children with Autism with a
Minimally Expressive Humanoid Robot. In Procs of 2nd Int Conf on Advances in
Computer-Human Interaction: ACHI'09. (Vol. 2009, pp. 205-211). IEEE.
10.1109/ACHI.2009.32
Salisbury, D. (2013). Interactive Robot Helps Children with Autism. Retrieved from
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/03/robot-helps-children-with-autism/
Tartaro, A., & Cassell, J. (2007). Using virtual peer technology as an intervention for
children with autism. Towards universal usability: designing computer interfaces for
diverse user populations. Chichester: John Wiley, 231, 62.
The Autism Society of America [ASA]. (2016). Retrieved February 11, 2016, from
http://www.autism-society.org/
Wood, L. J., Dautenhahn, K., Lehmann, H., Robins, B., Rainer, A., & Syrdal, D. S.
(2013). Robot-Mediated Interviews: Do robots possess advantages over human
interviewers when talking to children with special needs?. In Social Robotics
(pp.54-63). Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1109/ACHI.2009.32
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
14
Appendix
Peer Review Sheet
Author of the Paper: _________ Herminia Paredes_______________________
Reviewer #1: ____Patricia Imhof____
Reviewer #2: ________________
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
15
Comments from Reviewer #1:
Comment
#1
#2
#3
Things I like about this Paper
I think this topic is very
important because Autism
(unfortunately) is everywhere.
It is becoming more common
than ever.
I really liked how she details the
three different areas that are
affected by autism. Very
educational.
Many references, great
information I really cannot wait
to see the final document.
Things that would make the
Paper Stronger, Clearer, or More
Organized
There are too many sentences in
the paragraphs, it needs a little
bit more of organization.
Cover page was missing, there is
an abstract and introduction titles,
I believe she will have to choose
either or
I think she could benefit from
going deeper in some areas of
the paper. In addition, she also
needs to number the pages,
format, etc.
Peer Review Sheet Author of the Paper: Herminia Paredes
Reviewer #2: LaStephen Maxwell
Things I like about this Paper:

Although the rough draft you have is brief I do enjoy the direction that you are taking such a
difficult topic like Autism.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTISM
16

You use references extremely well to support your statements.

I enjoy the fact that you are very detailed in your writing. It truly draws me in to want to gain
better understanding.
Things that would make the paper Stronger, Clearer, or More Organized:

The way you set up throws the reader right into the heart of the paper. Of course I
understand this is still the draft, but I would recommend you create a steady introduction
after your abstract to build up for the main content of your paper.

I noticed towards the end of your paper you began to speak more opinionated with no
reference support. You displayed more “I’s” in the paper than what you were using before.
Your early strengths were stating facts and supporting those facts with compliant references.
However towards the end you would make a statement with no support, thus leaving
question if that is how you feel or is that what research proves. All in all I believe you should
continue to hold on that strong suit of supporting you statements.

Throughout the paper you spoke very well on the many different intangibles involved in
autism. I enjoyed reading about the design and behavior, and mediators. However I have two
final thoughts. I believe that you should have more sub categories that will support your
main topic. As well you should create a clearer problem that you want to address in your
topic. I had trouble finding what the main problem was that you wanted to associate with
autism.