Stakeholders Acceptance and Expectations of RobotAssisted Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Robot assisted therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) should take into account the stakeholders expectations about their potential benefits. Any disparity between the stakeholders expectations and the gained benefits may negatively impact the acceptance and adoption of the robot assisted therapy. In this research, we conducted an observational study with eleven parents and five clinical professionals related with the children with ASD who were preselected to undergo robot assisted therapeutic sessions. The aim was to investigate and identify the potential impact regarding the interventions delivered by the social robots during the interventions, roles of the social robots and benefit offered by them. Specifically, the social robot Cozmo was used for this study. Their opinions were collected using questionnaires and were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.The results of the study confirm a positive attitude towards the adoption of these technologies, both among the caregivers and the professionals.

A Participatory Design Process of a Robotic Tutor of Assistive Sign Language for Children with Autism We present the participatory design process of a robotic tutor of assistive sign language for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Robots have been used in autism therapy, and to teach sign language to neurotypical children. The application of teaching assistive sign language xe2x80x94 the most common form of assistive and augmentative communication used by people with ASD xe2x80x94 is novel. The robotxe2x80x99s function is to prompt children to imitate the assistive signs that it performs. The robot was therefore codesigned to appeal to children with ASD, taking into account the characteristics of ASD during the design process: impaired language and communication, impaired social behavior, and narrow flexibility in daily activities. To accommodate these characteristics, a multidisciplinary team defined design guidelines specific to robots for children with ASD, which were followed in the participatory design process. With a pilot study where the robot prompted children to imitate nine assistive signs, we found support for the effectiveness of the design. The children successfully imitated the robot and kept their focus on it, as measured by their eye gaze. Children and their companions reported positive experiences with the robot, and companions evaluated it as potentially useful, suggesting that robotic devices could be used to teach assistive sign language to children with ASD.