A hybrid system based on robotic assistants and mobile applications to support in speech therapy for children with disabilities and communication disorders


Abstract:

According to latest estimates of World Health Organization (WHO), nowadays 93 million of children live with severe or moderate disabilities. In the same way, these studies point that around 15% of world population present some form of disability. In addition to this complex situation, it is fundamental to consider that an important number of elderly are developing different kinds of disabilities. From this group, a significant percentage of persons present different types of communication disorders that can limit their lives in different ways. Given that one of most vulnerable groups is constitued by children, in this paper we present a low-cost robotic assistant able to support their rehabilitation process through Speech-LanguageTherapy (SLT). This robotic assistant is able to interact with a mobile application that is aimed to conduct reinforcement activities at home with the parents of the children. Our proposal has been tested with 29 children with cerebral palsy and communication disorders. The results are encouraging, given that it was possible to success fully integrate the robot to the therapy sessions.

Año de publicación:

2017

Keywords:

  • mobile applications.
  • disabilities
  • Speech-language therapy
  • Communication disorders
  • Robotic Assistants

Fuente:

scopusscopus

Tipo de documento:

Article

Estado:

Acceso restringido

Áreas de conocimiento:

  • Comunicación
  • Robótica

Áreas temáticas:

  • Funcionamiento de bibliotecas y archivos