- [Announcer 1] This program in observance of Autism Month is made possible on WQED by Wesley Spectrum has been providing transformational support to kids and families impacted by autism for more than 45 years, and is a proud supporter of WQED's Autism Awareness Month programs.

- [Announcer 2] At McGuire Memorial, we believe that God's most fragile individuals have lessons they can learn, tasks they can conquer, and relationships they can embrace.

McGuire Memorial, inspiring hope, fostering growth and creating surroundings for miracles.

- [Announcer 3] Spectrum Charter School, since 2000, for students with cognitive and sensory challenges, including autism, providing individualized classroom education and onsite vocational training, enabling them to become proud, productive citizens.

(gentle music) - [Announcer 4] Coming up next on IQ Smart Parent, autism is the most pervasive childhood disorder.

Our focus tonight: technology robots in autism, from communication to emotion and socialization.

See how new devices are helping children with autism, unlock new skills and how the same techniques can help other kids too.

Next, on IQ Smart Parent.

(harmonious music) (audience clapping) Welcome to IQ Smart Parent.

I'm Angela Santomero, and I've worked in children's television production for many years.

Along the way, I helped to create and executive produce Blue's clues, Super Why and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

In putting together these shows, we spent a lot of time researching the best tools for developing a child's language and communication skills, as well as social and emotional wellbeing.

Tonight, we're looking at innovative ways that technology is helping children who have an especially hard time learning some of these skills, children with autism spectrum disorder.

Joining me now is Carla Mazefsky, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Brett Spitale from the organization Autism Speaks.

Hi guys, thanks for coming.

- Hi, thank you.

- Carla, let's start with you.

From your expertise, can you tell us and define what it means to be on the spectrum?

- Sure, autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed on the basis of impairments in social interaction, differences in communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors.

But what's complicated about it is it shows up differently from one kid to the next.

So the social interaction for one child could be complete lack of interest in interacting, and another child could be quite interested, but really struggled to make friends or dominate a conversation.

And then there are many other areas that are also affected, which is why apps can be so useful because there are so many different things that they can be applied to.

- [Angela] Oh, great.

I want to definitely talk about that.

And Brett, tell me a little bit about your organization in terms of getting the word out and all of us wearing the pins.

And also you do a lot of research to try to find a cure.

- [Brett] We do, we do.

Autism speaks is the largest healthcare nonprofit organization, and we focus on really four areas: family services, we focus on advocacy, we focused on awareness, and most importantly, we focus on research and funding that research, which includes different things like these apps that are happening out there.

- So what are you finding in terms of the apps and technology actually helping kids that are on the spectrum?

- Sure, I think one of the things that we find, we certainly, you know, our children and our adults, they have difficulties communicating sometimes.

And these apps can certainly help.

I think the one thing that's really important that we need to keep in mind is that if you've met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism, and one person with autism.

So there are some very- there's uniqueness where they can communicate, how they can communicate.

And some apps might work for one child.

Some apps might not.

So it's extremely important.

- Do you have any stories or anybody that you've met that you've personally been invested in this?

- Absolutely, yeah.

That's great question.

One of the things that I did when I first came to Autism Speaks is I wanted to reach out to our families and really try to see what they're dealing with and how they're dealing with this.

I think quickly, what I learned is that there's no way I'll ever be able to grasp that.

One person in particular sat down with their father.

We were supposed to sit down for a cup of coffee over 30 minutes and it turned into about a four hour conversation.

And one of the things that I really took out of that was really profound to me is that he had said to me, "You have to understand that autism is my life."

He has a son, Matty, who's on the spectrum and Matty's 21 right now.

And he's aging out a lot of these services.

One of his wishes for himself, really was to one day be able to hear his son's voice.

So.

- And Carla, does this technology, is there any way that we could be bringing the communication skills out for kids?

- Yes.

I think communication is probably one of the most exciting ways that these apps are being used in autism.

So, whereas we used to have like these big books with pictures that weren't that flexible.

Now you can use an app and you can personalize it.

- [Angela] So what would the big book with pictures do?

Like would you, is it more like a therapy where you point to them and then you're asking them to label?

- All different ways or it could work up to putting pictures together to make a sentence, but now you can do that in a much more flexible way with some of these apps and they can even speak for them.

If they could type, they can type in things.

And then that phrase could be said to the other person, or use pictures, you can put in your own pictures or pictures of your pets or family.

So it's really opening a whole new door to more flexible communication and it's less stigma to carry around an iPad.

- You know, it's funny because with communication has been such a reason for the interactivity behind some of the shows that I do in terms of having a character lean in and look at you and really be actively listening.

And their facial cues of our characters is really important in terms of trying to pause for as long as possible to get the kids to interact back.

And we've actually had amazing success.

A mom had called at one point to tell us that her son said his first words to Steve from Blue's Clues, which was very, obviously rewarding for us.

Do you have examples of three things that we might be able to look for when there are thousands of apps out there and choices for parents that we could look for to help us distinguish?

- [Carla] Yeah, I think that's one of the challenges for parents is how do we weed through all of these apps?

Especially because each kid is different.

There is very little research on these apps.

So I think the best thing to do is- - [Angela] There's little research in general on the apps that are out there for autistic kids?

- [Carla] Yeah.

- [Brett] I think it's, yeah, there really is.

Some of them, what Autism Speaks has done is we have a portion on our website where you can go to, and we have all kinds of thousands of apps listed there, and you can rate these apps.

You can take a look at them and see, you know.

They're rated by parents, by people using them.

Some of them are anecdotal, and some of them are research-based.

And we clearly label that there.

There's tens of thousands of applications out there.

And the other important thing is that, you know, some of these applications cost hundreds of dollars as well, too.

So there's a big market art there out there right now.

So, you know what Dr. Mazefsky had talked about.

Being able to really find the right app and knowing what to look for is extremely important.

- [Angela] Especially right, as families who are living with this and this is their life, you're looking for help.

So this is really important.

So tell me for parents, what are the three things?

And then I think you have an example that you'd might want to share.

- I really think what we need to look for is it's based on sound research, even if it's not on that app itself.

But principals we know help kids with autism learn.

So things like using positive reinforcement, if that's actually built into the app, that's fantastic.

Because then that helps them get engaged.

Like you were saying, how you work on trying to get them to be engaged with the character.

- Social stories?

- Social stories are widely, you know that's- social stories have been researched and used in autism applied to all different kinds of things.

And now there are apps that you can more flexibly create social stories or there are apps for teachers on how to learn, you know, more scientific way of creating a social story.

- One of the ways we use them would be like, on a Daniel social story would be to how to meet a friend or how to share or different ways that we use these little musical strategies that have simple, simple language and are as visual as possible to deal with let's say emotions, disappointment, anger.

- [Brett] I think that's important.

Yeah.

Some of the things that you're doing with the facial recognition that you had mentioned before, what are a lot of these apps are doing as well too, is a lot of times if one of the difficulties that our children on the spectrum have is to be able to recognize those facial expressions, like you had said.

What is it for someone to be sad?

What is it for someone to be happy?

And how do I recognize that?

- And there's a learn with Rufus app.

I believe that you're fond of.

- [Carla] Yeah, I think it's a good example because it is built on some of those sound principles.

So that is an example of the emotions app.

It's a series focused on different things, but that's helping to understand emotional expressions.

And I like it because it starts with practice.

So they get comfortable and then they can pick a reward that they like.

And this case, it's a little fish at the bottom.

So every time they get one right, they get another fish and you can see them respond to that.

And then there's a chance built in to take a break, like you would do sort of with an early intervention trial, face to face.

So you do a little work, you take a break.

And in this one, they'd be popping the balloons.

And then it also gives you the opportunity to track progress, which if you're using it for learning is really critical.

And then the other big thing, like we've talked about, if you met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism.

It's customizable.

So there are different difficulty levels.

If your child is sensitive to sounds, you can turn the sound off.

If reading actually helps your child, you can have words on there.

Or not, it's distracting.

You can take it off.

- [Angela] Looking for individual differences, right?

- [Carla] Yeah, looking for an app that you can actually customize to meet your child's needs is key.

- [Angela] And are they working?

Do we have research that shows that this is actually helping?

- You know, we do.

Certainly you can look at even from family to family almost, and see that when you talk to a parent face to face, which we do all the time, they'll tell you, you know, "This is really working, this is really working.

This is helping my child communicate."

That's extremely important.

Once you can see it really on the ground there.

Autism Speaks is funny.

One of the first grants here, or had just done, that's looking into that research as far as the app is concerned, what it's doing.

Yeah.

- Thank you.

This is such great information for parents.

And one of our partners in this series, Common Sense Media also has some great advice for how technology can help with learning differences.

Let's take a look.

(inspiring music) (gentle music) - [Announcer 5] Did know that one in five people in the US have learning difficulties?

That's right.

And chances are, you know kids like us who have a hard time with reading, math, communication, organization, social interaction, or motor skills.

Yeah, getting organized and keeping on schedule can be really difficult for me.

For me, doing math in my head and estimation is a big challenge.

The good news is that today there are lots of apps, websites, games, and devices that help kids like us read, practice and play at our own pace and comfort level.

Finding the right product isn't hard.

Here's some simple tips to help you pick.

First, match the device to the kid.

Make sure the device you pick lets you adjust the settings to better meet our learning challenges.

Being able to change the font size, screen color, sound levels, motion style, and captioning can make a big difference in how we learn.

Next, pick your content carefully.

Look for engaging apps, websites, and games that match our interests.

Provide clear instructions and give positive feedback.

For instance, I have a cousin who has trouble with communication, especially when people are speaking fast.

Good apps for her let her listen and respond and change the rate of speech.

Finally, get involved.

Get used to the device yourself so you can show us how to change the settings.

And when we aren't using tech, do offline activities with us that connect to what we've been learning.

Like going to the history museum if we've just learned about the triceratops in a game.

Following these simple steps will go a long way in helping kids like us.

For more on tech resources for kids with learning difficulties, check out Common Sense Media's power up guide at CommonSense.org.

(gentle music) - [Angela] Parents can also visit our website at WQED.org/SmartParent for a link to Common Sense Media's recommended list of apps for children with special needs.

Another new form of technology that's helping children with autism is robots.

We're excited to have one with us.

One of the leading researchers in this field, Aubrey Shick and Romibo.

Hi Aubrey.

Thank you so much for coming.

- Thank you so much for inviting me.

- Tell us a little bit about your work and your inspiration.

- So I was a Carnegie Mellon University working in the Robotics Institute for the last three to three and a half years developing Romibo.

We developed Romibo right out of the literature.

So social robot therapy research for kids with autism has been going on since the nineties with the Aurora project, but it's only been the last few years that we've really figured out how to leverage this and really make a difference in kids' lives.

- Can you give me an example of the way in which you've used it in the classroom and how that made a difference?

- Well for example, we had a class of children where one boy started being mean to the robots and saying, "You're an evil robot.

You're going to take over my mind."

And then the robot turned his back to him and only talked to the other children.

So the little boy went over to the teacher and said, "Hey, the robot's not talking to me."

And the teacher was able to explain, "Well, you hurt his feelings.

You need to apologize, and then maybe he'll talk to you again."

So the boy went and apologized and then the robot talked to him again and he continued in the classroom politely.

(Angela giggling) - Well, that's amazing.

Well, hi Romibo.

Can you tell me your name?

- [Romibo] My name is Romibo.

- You're a very smart robot.

- [Romibo] I am a social robot.

I am a social robot.

- Are you happy to be here today?

- [Romibo] I'm excited to be here.

- I really like your eyes.

- [Romibo] My eyes are simple and less overwhelming.

- They are.

Can you- I'm going to talk to Aubrey for one second.

Can you tell me a little bit about the eyes in terms of, are they recording data?

Or why is it that they're simple and not overwhelming for autistic kids?

- Well so the robot's able to use the front facing camera to collect data, to bring the video to the person who's piloting the robot, able to use the accelerometers.

You can tell if somebody is being rough for being nice.

That's all stuff that's currently in development.

The robot's eyes are currently using the front facing camera to do face tracking.

So the robot actually can look at the child as they're moving around.

And that's very important to engagement.

We have a range of eyes, actually very expressive to very simple eyes because what really engages one child can be a little bit overwhelming to another.

So we've been very careful to be adaptable as possible.

- And this is for an iPhone, is that what goes in here?

- This is an iPod touch, but it can also take an iPhone5.

This is Romibo 6.

Romibo 7 is coming out in the next month or so.

We're taking pre-orders on our website, but the next version of the robot is going to be able to take more devices and be much more capable.

- So can you tell me a little bit more about Romibo in the classroom?

So you would put Romibo in a class with kids and then would she act like a student?

- The most important feature of Romibo is that it is a tool or an assistant to the therapist or caregiver.

They have complete control over what the robot's doing, so they can use it as a play date to help enact some of these important social stories, as they were mentioning.

And it facilitates conversation.

So for example, a child who may not feel comfortable answering a question to the adult or a caretaker may often feel more comfortable expressing things to the robot.

And once that child starts interacting more with the robot, we found that the other children find it easier to engage them, so they wind up socializing more in general.

- [Angela] So it reminds me a little bit with play therapy with hand puppets.

- It's very, very similar, very, very much along the lines of puppets.

Only Romibo, it's mobile.

It's able to roam around on its own.

It conveys more agency.

And the size of Romibo is also very important.

It's a pet size.

So rather than being a toy size where the child would be possessive, this is mine.

You know, they respect it as its own agent.

- [Angela] Is there a reason why it's also fuzzy?

- So the robot's fuzzy due to sensory reasons.

So a lot of children are very attracted to that tactile experience.

However, we also have shells for children who may be adverse to that.

We have different colors, different lengths of fur.

What we do is a sensory intake form when we first meet the child to make sure that we tailor every element to the robot to that child's specific needs.

- It does so remind me of kids talking directly to Daniel on the show in terms of a fuzzy non-threatening character with big eyes who are really trying to elicit interaction.

It is so interesting when you can see that happen in terms of the reality versus fantasy.

Is it working?

like, do you see kids learning?

I don't know, Brett.

- It's, you know, I think what's great about this is that there's the variety as well too.

'Cause I know I keep going back to this, but it's so important what works for one child, certainly isn't going to work for the next.

And that they're able to actually take it and interchangeable pieces of it as well too.

And it is really almost, the toy play or the puppet for our generation, you know?

And I think that's wonderful.

That's great.

- Great.

So we're going to keep our guests right here.

And when we come back, we're going to open up the conversation to members of the community right here in our studio audience.

- [Announcer 1] Want to find out more about IQ Smart Parent?

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For more than 50 years, WQED has helped spark your child's curiosity and love of learning with trusted resources in literacy, math, and science and social wellbeing.

Now we're excited to launch a new Institute for parents that will empower them with knowledge and resources to raise their 21st century children with confidence.

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Sign up at WQED.org/SmartParent.

- Welcome back.

We're talking tonight about how technology and robotics can improve the lives of children who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or other learning differences.

Nina is here in our audience and you have a question.

- I do.

Since we're working with a population of children who have socialization issues to begin with, could you speak a little bit about screen time and the fact that it's actually an issue, even with typical children that they're spending more and more time in front of a screen instead of in front of other children?

These kids could perhaps pull away even more into a shell if we give them more and more engaging apps.

- That's a great question.

- I can speak probably more as a parent than anything else then I think.

And, you know, certainly what we're seeing.

I think that the applications that are out there right now, we certainly want to be able to use them in a useful way.

It's important that when we are sitting our children in front of a television or an iPad that, you know, we're monitoring the progress, and we're tracking it as well, too.

But to be able to monitor the interaction that we have with our children, I mean, that's always the most important thing as a parent, and as a child learning.

Where are they going to pick up from more?

- I always love to say that it's about the content, right?

In terms of what shows you're choosing.

Carla, would you agree in terms of the choosing the apps and limiting screen time?

- Yeah, and actually some of the apps are designed to teach skills that they would then apply with other children or to do different things during the day.

So it's sort of part of a process, not necessarily something where they're sitting down and playing a game for three hours.

I agree with you that's probably not the best, but we do find that some kids with autism actually, it helps them come out of their shell a little more and they can learn some of the things easier with the app, it's consistent.

It can be geared towards the way they like to learn things.

And then it's easier for them to take those skills into real life, so it's, you know, it's a balance.

I think every parent struggles with that screen time balance.

- Aubrey, do you have anything to add?

- Yeah, well, the great thing about Romibo.

Romibo is clearly interacting with the iPad, but it's an embodied interaction, you know?

The first thing that children always say when they see him is, "Romibo!

Can I give Romibo a hug?"

It's bringing the children away from the screen, allowing them to have these social interactions that are embodied.

- That's great.

Thank you so much.

In a world where parents are often cautioned to limit screen time, it's important to talk about ways that technology and mobile devices can enhance communication and other skills.

Apps and games and robots aren't meant to be a perfect solution, but there are clear ways that technology can be a useful tool for families living with autism.

And as exciting as this is, it can also be overwhelming to parents and caregivers who are trying to find the right resources for their child.

Here are our tips for parents.

(gentle music) Look beyond the label.

In many ways, this is the wild west of apps.

Just because an app is advertised as being for autism or educational, doesn't mean it is.

Make sure you check sites like autismspeaks.org and CommonSenseMedia.org for ratings and reviews.

Try different options.

Every child learns differently and faces unique challenges.

There are many different types of apps and technology that can help.

Watch for new ideas in technology.

New innovations are always on the horizon, as well as new ideas for making technology more affordable for families.

Working with children who have special needs and learning differences requires a lot of time, attention, and patience on the part of parents and caregivers.

We hope that this episode of IQ Smart Parent has offered some creative ways for working with your child to help them reach their fullest potential.

We'll be featuring more parent tips and great resources on our Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages.

Follow us at WQED-_EDU and at #IQSmartParent.

Also the conversation continues online.

Hear more from my guests and tonight's audience at WQED.org/SmartParent.

Be sure to share your thoughts and advice there too.

Thank you so much for joining us, and goodnight.

- [Romibo] Thank you and good night.

(audience clapping) (gentle music) (music continues) - [Announcer 1] This program in observance of autism month is made possible on WQED by Wesley Spectrum has been providing transformational support to kids and families impacted by autism for more than 45 years, and as a proud supporter of WQED's autism awareness month programs.

- [Announcer 2] The Autism Society of Pittsburgh.

Since 1967, working to improve the lives of those with autism and their families in our community.

Supported entirely by your donations and the money given here stays here.