Can Robots Help Children With Autism? (go.com) 52
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."
Robot Chickens (Score:2)
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.
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Can Robots Help Children With Autism
I'm pretty sure that if the children's autism is deficient, the robots can help them improve it. Source: I'm a living proof.
Stealing Autism Jobs (Score:1)
Robots are stealing all of our autism jobs!
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Yes. Robots can help kids with autism. Robots can help with everything. Robots are fucking awesome!
Robots have no agenda. They aren't actively competing for our jobs. They aren't stealing anything. They are being perfectly obedient. They are doing everything we tell them to do, and they are doing a kickass job of it.
The economic impact of robots is not something the robots are doing, it is something the humans who own them are doing. If you have a problem with what those humans are doing, take it up
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That was the non-sarcastic version of my post. Some of the mods didn't get it.
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From http://www.rosco.com/spectrum/... [rosco.com]
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!
Spectrum = Rainbow (Score:2)
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Bb.
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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... [nih.gov]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p... [nih.gov]
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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
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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.
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> 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
can they? of course. will they? (Score:2)
advice from an autistic adult (Score:1)
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.autisti
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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
Autism Speaks is interested in having as many people declared autistic as possible.
The problem I have with the autism spectrum outlook is that what is on the spectrum doesn't remotely look like the same issue. And the people with Asperger's to me are not even what I would call autistic - I call them differently abled. I've worked with a few, friends with them, and am in awe of their powers. I know that sounds odd to many people, but it's true.
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> Autism Speaks is interested in having as many people declared autistic as possible.
Conspiracy, after conspiracy! Horrible. If you aren't perfect,* you're shite!
Are you high or something? What is odd about politicized groups wanting to add more people to whatever they are politicized about. They want to show an epidemic.
Take a chill pill, a hot bath, or beat off or something, you sound like you need a break - take one.
What autistic kids need. (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
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Fine, as long as people with Aspergers don't want to interact with other people or hold down jobs, not a problem.
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There are a range of modes of thought to suit the range of tasks within cooperative human society. The problem stems for capitalistic competition forcing people into jobs they are unsuited to ie like psychopathy and politics or narcissism and law enforcers oh and any jobs for aspergers types involving forced interaction with lots of super annoying extroverts more interested in meetings then solving intricate mental puzzles. Don't worry, just keep bashing harder on that hammer as you drive square pegs into r
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Nice straw man rant.
Missing out. (Score:3)
I once knew a guy definitely on the spectrum who did data entry. I mean 6-8 hours straight. Not sure he even blinked.
Ahh, so Ryder was a diversity hire (Score:2)
autistic characters have now even been added to the new Power Rangers movie and on Sesame Street.
And also Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Intervention (Score:2)
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!
Obligatory B. B. Rodriguez (Score:2)
Spare a thought... (Score:1)
Depends on which kid... (Score:2)
You might find your brand new robot completely dismantled with its parts neatly organized on top of the desk.
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Like you didn't take your toys and pets apart to see what's inside them.
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Now you quite got me.
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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.
Cocaine (Score:1)