Robot facilitated rehabilitation of children with autism spectrum disorder: A 10 year scoping review

Abstract Background A severe shortage of skilled clinicians and infrastructure limits the delivery of early intervention programmes for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children that are labour and duration intensive and most advantageous in the first 3 years. Aim Assess the role of robot mediated intervention (RMI) role in the rehabilitation of ASD individuals by responding to five research questions in the area of (1) Technology maturity; (2) Skill improvement areas; (3) Research design including participant's demographics, datasets, intervention details, and evaluation tools; (4) Data gathering, analysis, and technology contribution, and (5) Role of Robots in intervention and its effectiveness. Methods Scoping review included RMI studies for ASD individuals published in PUBMED, SCOPUS, and IEEE‐Xplore databases between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2020. The publications were evaluated utilizing the PRISMA scoping review criteria (PRISMA‐ScR) checklist and the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP). Results The 59 selected publications demonstrated that RMI improved skills for ASD individuals in 12 areas. During RMI, extensive joint attention stimuli were given to ASD individuals, and the therapy promoted ASD children's eye contact, imitation, socio‐communication, and academic skills. However, various ethical, privacy, and safety concerns were reported in the review. Conclusion RMI can improve access, quality, and affordability in ASD intervention. The acceptance and use of technology can be fast‐tracked by (1) incorporating statistically valid study designs; (2) carrying out field trials including diverse participant groups; (3) standardizing datasets with quality parameters; (4) recruiting statistically appropriate participant groups from ASD, Neuro Typical (NT) and diverse developmental disorder population; and (5) and addressing ethical, privacy, safety, trust, and other stakeholder concerns.