Overview of experiment procedure I. Pre-test Procedure
If your child meets the criteria to participate in the study, there are two initial meetings that will be scheduled prior to the beginning of the study:
(a) The first meeting will take place at MedPark 15. You will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires without your child present. At that time, you will complete three measures that will help to establish the baseline for your child:
● The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (assesses your child's behavior and estimates your child's cognitive age based on your report of their performance)
● The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)
** Please plan to spend about 1 hour for this meeting.
(b) During the second meeting (which will take place at the USC Speech and Hearing Center), you and your child will be introduced to CHARLIE. We will evaluate your child using the following two tests:
● Unstructured Imitation Assessment (Version A)
● Motor Imitation Scale: 16-item assessment of motor imitation, especially designed for children with autism (Version A)
● Expressive Vocabulary Test (Second edition) (Form A)
● Completion of the Mean Length of Spontaneous Utterance
Determination
** Please plan to spend about an hour and a half for this meeting.
II. Test procedure and SLP Goals
Following the initial evaluations, we will schedule 30-minute sessions, twice a week (semi-weekly) for a total of 6 weeks.
(a) Each session will involve the speech therapist, a graduate student and the robot, CHARLIE.
(b) Introducing the robot to each child and will follow these general guidelines and will incorporate the following therapy goals:
● Phase I : The robot will be situated in the room where therapy will take place. For the first few sessions (and at the therapist's discretion) the robot will be placed in stationary mode – to allow the child the opportunity to physically explore the robot and its components before introducing movement.
SLP GOALS:
(1) On arriving and leaving each session, the subject will briefly make eye contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her greeting.
We will be ready to approach Phase II after the child has been observed to:
(2) Approach CHARLIE (3) Touch CHARLIE (4) Move CHARLIE's arms
● Phase II: The child, with the therapist's guidance (if required) will be given the opportunity to control the robot's arms and head with a remote control.
(1) On arriving and leaving each session, the subject will briefly make eye contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her greeting. (2) During follow directions task, subject will point/operate
remote/follow direction in order to lead CHARLIE through an activity at least once during the session. We will be ready to approach Phase III after the child has been observed to:
(3) Use the remote control to make CHARLIE move
● Phase III: The child, with the therapist's guidance (if required) will be given the opportunity to play music and practice movement along with the robot. The robot can play “If you're happy and you know it” and “The wheels on the bus” with hand and head movements.
contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her greeting. (2) During follow directions task, subject will point/operate remote/follow
direction in order to lead CHARLIE through an activity at least once during the session.
(3) During song activity, subject will participate in fingerplays/gestures with CHARLIE for 80% of opportunities.
(4) Once CHARLIE has imitated subject's movement, subject will continue to move/interact with CHARLIE through # turns (# to be determined from performance on baseline/previous session). We will be ready to approach Phase IV after the child has been observed to:
(5) Respond to song with appropriate fingerplay/gesture (6) Move in response to CHARLIE's prompt/action
● Phase IV: The child, with the therapist's guidance (if required) will be given the opportunity to play imitation games with the robot. One-on-one games include just the child and the robot. The “Pass the pose” game includes the therapist, the child and the robot.
(1) On arriving and leaving each session, the subject will briefly make eye contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her
greeting.
(2) During follow directions task, subject will point/operate remote/follow direction in order to lead CHARLIE through an activity at least once during the session.
(3) During song activity, subject will participate in fingerplays/gestures with CHARLIE for 80% of opportunities.
(4) Once CHARLIE has imitated subject's movement, subject will continue to move/interact with CHARLIE through # turns (# to be determined from performance on baseline/previous session).
(5) When offered a choice of activities, subject will clearly make his/her performance known to others in session for 80% of trials.
(6) Throughout the therapy session, subject will cooperate with a turn-taking task with CHARLIE, parent and/or clinician through (2) turns (change this # as client progresses) each. We will be ready to approach Phase V after the child has been observed to:
(7) Imitate the robot movements on 80% of trials
(8) Imitate movements with another person in the intervention room
● Phase V: The child will be given the opportunity to select from various modes of play with the robot.
(1) On arriving and leaving each session, the subject will briefly make eye contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her greeting. (2) During follow directions task, subject will point/operate remote/follow
direction in order to lead CHARLIE through an activity at least once during the session.
(3) During song activity, subject will participate in fingerplays/gestures with CHARLIE for 80% of opportunities.
(4) Once CHARLIE has imitated subject's movement, subject will continue to move/interact with CHARLIE through # turns (# to be determined from performance on baseline/previous session).
(5) When offered a choice of activities, subject will clearly make his/her performance known to others in session for 80% of trials.
(6) Throughout the therapy session, subject will cooperate with a turn-taking task with CHARLIE, parent and/or clinician through (2) turns (change this # as client progresses) each.
(7) During interactive games and songs with CHARLIE, subject will participate in a structured reciprocal play routine for (2) minutes on (3) occasions (change #’s as client progresses).
• Phase VI: If the child moves smoothly through the previous 5 sessions, then on the 6th session s/he will be given the opportunity to select from various modes of play with the robot and any member of the research staff.
(1) On arriving and leaving each session, the subject will briefly make eye contact with clinician, CHARLIE and Laura as part of his/her greeting.
(2) During follow directions task, subject will point/operate remote/follow direction in order to lead CHARLIE through an activity at least once during the session.
(3) During song activity, subject will participate in fingerplays/gestures with CHARLIE for 80% of opportunities.
(4) Once CHARLIE has imitated subject's movement, subject will continue to move/interact with CHARLIE through # turns (# to be determined from performance on baseline/previous session). (5) When offered a choice of activities, subject will clearly make his/her performance known to others in session for 80% of trials. (6) Throughout the therapy session, subject will cooperate with a turn-taking task with CHARLIE, parent and/or clinician through (2) turns (change this # as client progresses) each.
(7) When presented with communication opportunities by clinician, subject will use gestures, vocalizations, or verbalizations
for a variety of communicative intents on 80% of opportunities presented.
within the last session, subject will make eye contact with appropriate clinician, Laura or parent before communicating the message.
(c) Upon completion of the six weeks of treatment, follow-up assessments (to measure progress achieved during the 6-week course of therapy) will include:
● Unstructured Imitation Assessment (Version B)
● Motor Imitation Scale (Version B)
● Expressive Vocabulary Test (Second edition) – (Form B)
● Completion of the Mean Length Utterance Determination