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Can Robots Help Children With Autism? (go.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Sunday is World Autism Awareness Day, and landmarks around the world will "light it up blue" as a show of support, including New York's Rockefeller Center and the White House. "Autism spectrum disorders affect an estimated one out of every 68 children in America," President Trump posted Friday, and autistic characters have now even been added to the new Power Rangers movie and on Sesame Street.
But technology could also play a role in improving the live of people with autism spectrum disorders. Reuters is reporting on a robot specifically designed to help teach communication and interaction skills to autistic children, while Vanderbilt University has 20 studies exploring more ways that robotics and technology could help, according to Zachary Warren, an associate professor of pediatrics. "A child may not respond to their mother calling their name but may automatically respond to a robot action or a piece of technology," Warren says after one program which showed improvement in five out of six participants. "If we can use that technology to shift how that child responds, then we may have a very valuable system to that child, that family and maybe for autism intervention."
But technology could also play a role in improving the live of people with autism spectrum disorders. Reuters is reporting on a robot specifically designed to help teach communication and interaction skills to autistic children, while Vanderbilt University has 20 studies exploring more ways that robotics and technology could help, according to Zachary Warren, an associate professor of pediatrics. "A child may not respond to their mother calling their name but may automatically respond to a robot action or a piece of technology," Warren says after one program which showed improvement in five out of six participants. "If we can use that technology to shift how that child responds, then we may have a very valuable system to that child, that family and maybe for autism intervention."
Not enough sleep. I thought it said something about robot chickens. I have seen some interesting things with tablets and autistic children. It's amazing to see a child that can't communicate suddenly able to comprehend and respond to communication over a tablet. Autism is such a weird thing. I imagine some might do well with robots.
I'd wager that 95% of the developers of robots are autistic. 1) be autistic 2) create robot 3) profit!
Robots are stealing all of our autism jobs!
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
we could ask them.
From http://www.rosco.com/spectrum/...
The first question we wanted to ask was – why blue? What does the color blue have to do with the austistic spectrum? The answer is that Autism Spectrum Disorders are almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252). So, the color blue represents the boys diagnosed with Autism.
Represents boys!?!?! That sure sounds like racism, sexism and many other naughty "ism's", as well.
Shame on you, Autistic folks!
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
okay, I'll copy my comment from last time... https://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1715468&cid=32867162
I'm autistic, and I can tell you the last thing autistic kids need teaching them how to act neurotypical is a robot mentor.
The dirty secret of Autism Speaks and just about everything else (such as the developers of these robots) is that they advocate for exhausted parents, annoyed relatives, and the profit motive of Western medicine; they don't do anything for actual autistic people.
www.autistics.org
Since it is a spectrum surely a rainbow would be more appropriate and less discriminatory. It would also be cheaper because then you can use the same signs, projectors etc. for gay pride, autism and international unicorn day (yes apparently that is a thing). Plus it would be highly appropriate to have the White House look like the end of a rainbow since I'm sure the current occupant has probably got at least one pot of gold stashed there given his sense of taste.
Is this 'hold your breath until you turn blue' day?
No, it's another pointless way for people to feel good about themselves. I saw the blue bulbs for sale at Home Depot yesterday. First thing that came to mind was why the bloody hell don't people just contribute instead of buying and lighting a stupid blue lightbulb.
Hard to imagine that anyone isn't "aware" of autism by this point.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
> First thing that came to mind was why the bloody hell don't people just contribute instead of buying and lighting a stupid blue lightbulb.
Yeah, like why did all those people waste their time posting ice-bucket challenge videos?
Or what about all those people wearing pink ribbons for breast cancer?
Stupid social humans, just be isolated robots already!!!
Uh? What have robots to do with anything other than steal jobs?
I think the world of Aspergers and other spectrum kids would be vastly improved if people generally would stop trying to get them to "act right." Put away the hammer, stop beating the square peg into the round hole, and things will improve dramatically.
I'm looking at you, teachers.
Ironically, "Autism Speaks" is not actually run or even really supported by autistic people, so it wasn't "autistic folks" that came up with the blue.
Even weirder than that, the methods that Autism Speaks espouses to "fix" autistic people is closely related to the methods that were used back in the day to try to "fix" gay people. Actually even the same guy (Lovaas) involved in both "therapies".
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...
autistic characters have now even been added to the new Power Rangers movie and on Sesame Street.
And also Mass Effect: Andromeda.
We all love you Steve, but your autism has gotten out of control. Flicking the lights on and off is one thing, but you have starting counting the leaves at 9 in the morning!
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
"Being a robot is great, but we don't have emotions, and sometimes that makes me sad."
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
While we're all joyfully lighting up blue for the improving prospects for autistic kids, it's worth a moment for all the autistic adults - most of whom still have no idea they're any different from the rest of us. And for the lonely few who've worked it out, and are still stuck in a world that expects them to be no different from the rest of us.
As long as they are killer robots.
> First thing that came to mind was why the bloody hell don't people just contribute instead of buying and lighting a stupid blue lightbulb.
Yeah, like why did all those people waste their time posting ice-bucket challenge videos?
Exactly. Give a detailed accound of how the jackass movie themed ice bucket challenge helped anyone.
Or what about all those people wearing pink ribbons for breast cancer?
The mistake they made was the ribbons should have been yellow, that simple mistake killed thousands of women.
Stupid social humans, just be isolated robots already!!!
Actually your silly retort tends to undermine your position.
Donate to the cause you are interested in, volunteer to help people. All that getting a bucket of ice water dumped on you does is make you cold. A pink ribbon never helped anything.
They don't help the victims of ALS or breast cancer or autism feel better, they help people who can't be bothered to do anything else feel better about themselves.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Give a detailed accound of how the jackass movie themed ice bucket challenge helped anyone.
Hook, line and sinker.
The ALS ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ actually worked
They don't help the victims of ALS or breast cancer or autism feel better, they help people who can't be bothered to do anything else feel better about themselves.
Lemme guess, you like to complain about virtue signaling too?
Have you considered that you are on the spectrum?
And that's why you don't "get" the principles of social organizing?
Rather going through the permutations of Can X help Y with Z?
No it's worse than that. Our society becomes more and more feminine. The problem with that is that the people remained the same. The social construct many feminist talk about isn't that social as they claim. It is biological. In my country the vast majority of teachers for children from 3-16 are women. Almost of these women have received the modern feminist guidelines and raise all children to be genderless. In practice this means that "dangerous games" like climbing trees, playing football, playing soldier, ... are banned. It are mostly boys who behave like boys. Boys are now learned that it is fine to play with dolls. For most girls this isn't a problem. They prefer girl toys anyway.
The lack for male teachers is seen as a blessing by many female teachers and their female principals. For boys this means that they no longer have a male role model. For boys it is important to have a male role model, just like how it is important for girls to have a female role model. But when the parents have to work longer hours and the child care is almost completely female, many boys no longer have a male role model. They become frustrated even depressed. The way they behave, although biological correct, is punished because it is deemed a social construct that has to be eradicated. It happens pretty frequent that boys has young as 6-7 years old are expelled from school because of their behavior. These boys are often diagnosed with either ADHD, autism, hypersensitivity or any other 'disorder'. Today one boy in five gets special medication to help them 'behave' in class. This is a serious problem in our school system today. When I look at other countries in Europe I see that many of the northern and western countries have the same problem. Feminists run the school boards and their dogmatic believes don't want to see any problem with their own system and blame everything on the patriarchy.
Feminism is good as long as it is meant to help prevent the exclusion of certain women from society. It is bad when the result is that it excludes certain men from the society, which is what is happening in my country. People who used to be hard working people who earned a decent wage and raised families are now outcasts who are unemployable. They are today defined as 'angry white men' who vote for far right parties instead of 'victims of feminism'. A big contrast with every other person who is left behind and isn't white or male. They are considered "victims of the patriarchy".
Don't worry. These days, also pesticides help with that.
You might find your brand new robot completely dismantled with its parts neatly organized on top of the desk.
Wow, nice ableist hate speech. Just because he recognizes slacktivism for what it actually is; selfishness and laziness to make yourself feel and look good while helping nobody, doesn't make him autistic.
Research has suggested that cocaine can help relieve the symptoms of autism and asbergers.
You know, a 50-something guy who graduated from University in four years with a triple major of Mathematics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and then went on to get an MBA yet is left with no social skills? The guy who thinks weather forecasts are 'weather schedules' that are tailored to his specific backyard: "They said it would start raining at 2. It's 2:05 and it's not raining. They lied". The guy who fails to see the importance of clothes that are clean and possibly pressed. The guy who talks inappropriately loud in an indoor setting? The guy who points at people at starts commenting about them even when you warn him that the car windows are open and that person can hear them: "What? I'm not saying anything bad about him/her". The guy who hears fire truck sirens or police sirens and thinks his house must be on fire. The guy who can't resist anything with 'free" shipping and/or "free after rebate" even it's something he doesn't really need. Is there a robot that can help him?
No.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
No, stridently insisting on misunderstanding how social organizing works is what makes him autism-suspicious.
I once knew a guy definitely on the spectrum who did data entry. I mean 6-8 hours straight. Not sure he even blinked.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling