KASPAR RCT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility study of an RCT to investigate the effectiveness of a humanoid robot to support social skills development in children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
IRAS ID
206323
Contact name
Silvana Mengoni
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition that affects approximately 1 in 100 individuals in the UK. It is associated with difficulties in social communication/interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities. ASD is a disabling condition, but early intervention increases the likelihood of improved long-term outcomes. However, parents frequently report waiting a long time for a diagnosis for their child and express feelings of dissatisfaction with the availability of interventions.
One avenue of research has explored the use of Socially Assisted Robots (SARs) in supporting the social and emotional development of children with ASD. The SAR, KASPAR, has been used in studies aiming to improve the development of communication and social skills in children with ASD, particularly those of a young age, with promising results. Children play games with KASPAR, which aim to promote important skills for the development of social competence. Over a number of case studies, teachers, parents and carers have reported improvements in children’s behaviour, suggesting some benefits of robot mediated interventions.
The aim of the present research is to conduct a feasibility study of a full-scale trial which will compare the social skills of children who interact with KASPAR and children who interact with a researcher only. Forty children newly diagnosed with ASD will be randomly allocated to one of the two groups. The feasibility study will examine how many families can be recruited to the study (and how many drop out), whether the intervention is acceptable to them, how easy it is to complete the outcome measures of interest, and glean parent perspectives on their experience in the different groups. The latter will be achieved via qualitative interviews. The feasibility study is the first step towards trialling an intervention that may have benefits for child and parent well-being.REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0387
Date of REC Opinion
10 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion