An approach to facilitate turn-taking behavior with paired devices for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Engaging and motivational toys used during therapies for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) need to be combined with the appropriated evaluation methods. Technology can provide the therapists with tools to facilitate the analysis of the interventions. In this paper we propose a model using paired devices with three different interaction rules made to facilitate turn-taking behaviors. These rules are evaluated in succession using identical spherical devices with simple visual cues designed to mediate turn-taking interaction between children and therapists. The results explored the potential of paired devices with embedded sensors as a method not only to engage children in the activity, but also to measure social cues that describe children performance. The evaluation of the proposed interaction model was used to provide insights for future implementations of paired devices for training turn-taking.