Multimodal interactions in free game play of children with autism and a mobile toy robot.

Autism is a complex neuropsychological disorder characterized by qualitative alterations in social interaction and interpersonal communication. The aim of this study is to estimate the interaction between autistic children and a mobile toy robot during free spontaneous game play. The duration of different criteria including eye contact, touch, manipulation, and posture have been considered. The variety of interactions of children with autism and the mobile toy robot show that the children take an interest in playing with the robot. This study suggests that the mobile toy robot in an ecological situation such as free, spontaneous game play could be used as a mediator of social stimuli in order to reduce the impairment of autistic children skills related to social information understanding and interaction.