Papadopoulou Maria T, Karageorgiou Elpida, Kechayas Petros, Geronikola Nikoleta, Lytridis Chris, Bazinas Christos, Kourampa Efi, Avramidou Eleftheria, Kaburlasos Vassilis G, Evangeliou Athanasios E
4th Department of Pediatrics, Papageorgiou General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Child & Parent Center S.A., Center for Special Education, 54351 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Children (Basel). 2022 Jul 31;9(8):1155. doi: 10.3390/children9081155.
(1) Background: There has been significant recent interest in the potential role of social robots (SRs) in special education. Specific Learning Disorders (SpLDs) have a high prevalence in the student population, and early intervention with personalized special educational programs is crucial for optimal academic achievement. (2) Methods: We designed an intense special education intervention for children in the third and fourth years of elementary school with a diagnosis of a SpLD. Following confirmation of eligibility and informed consent, the participants were prospectively and randomly allocated to two groups: (a) the SR group, for which the intervention was delivered by the humanoid robot NAO with the assistance of a special education teacher and (b) the control group, for which the intervention was delivered by the special educator. All participants underwent pre- and post-intervention evaluation for outcome measures. (3) Results: 40 children (NAO = 19, control = 21, similar baseline characteristics) were included. Pre- and post-intervention evaluation showed comparable improvements in both groups in cognition skills (decoding, phonological awareness and reading comprehension), while between-group changes favored the NAO group only for some phonological awareness exercises. In total, no significant changes were found in any of the groups regarding the emotional/behavioral secondary outcomes. (4) Conclusion: NAO was efficient as a tutor for a human-supported intervention when compared to the gold-standard intervention for elementary school students with SpLDs.
(1) 背景：近期，社会机器人（SRs）在特殊教育中的潜在作用引发了广泛关注。特定学习障碍（SpLDs）在学生群体中普遍存在，早期通过个性化特殊教育项目进行干预对于实现最佳学业成绩至关重要。(2) 方法：我们为小学三、四年级被诊断患有SpLD的儿童设计了一项强化特殊教育干预。在确认资格并获得知情同意后，将参与者前瞻性地随机分为两组：(a) SR组，由人形机器人NAO在特殊教育教师的协助下进行干预；(b) 对照组，由特殊教育工作者进行干预。所有参与者在干预前后均接受了结果测量评估。(3) 结果：纳入了40名儿童（NAO组 = 19名，对照组 = 21名，基线特征相似）。干预前后评估显示，两组在认知技能（解码、语音意识和阅读理解）方面均有类似改善，而组间变化仅在一些语音意识练习中有利于NAO组。总体而言，在任何一组中，情感/行为次要结果均未发现显著变化。(4) 结论：与针对患有SpLD的小学生的金标准干预相比，NAO作为人类辅助干预的辅导工具是有效的。
