“Autistic kids respond to Kaspar the robot - Arlington Heights Daily Herald” plus 1 more |
| Autistic kids respond to Kaspar the robot - Arlington Heights Daily Herald Posted: STEVENAGE, England — Eden Sawczenko used to recoil when other little girls held her hand and turned stiff when they hugged her. This year, the 4-year-old autistic girl began playing with a robot that teaches about emotions and physical contact — and now she hugs everyone. "She's a lot more affectionate with her friends now and will even initiate the embrace," said Claire Sawczenko, Eden's mother. Advertisement The girl attends a preschool for autistic children in Stevenage, north of London, where researchers bring in a human-looking, child-sized robot once a week for a supervised session. The children, whose autism ranges from mild to severe, play with the robot for up to 10 minutes alongside a scientist who controls the robot with a remote control. The robot, named Kaspar, is programmed to do things like smile, frown, laugh, blink and wave his arms. He has shaggy black hair, a baseball cap, a few wires protruding from his neck, and striped red socks. He was built by scientists at the University of Hertfordshire at a cost of about $2,100. There are several versions of Kaspar, including one advanced enough to play Nintendo Wii. The robot's still in the experimental stage, and researchers hope he could be mass-produced one day for a few hundred dollars. "Children with autism don't react well to people because they don't understand facial expressions," said Ben Robins, a senior research fellow in computer science at the University of Hertfordshire who specializes in working with autistic children. "Robots are much safer for them because there's less for them to interpret and they are very predictable." There are similar projects in Canada, Japan and the U.S., but the British one is the most advanced according to other European robot researchers not connected with the project. Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire first began using a version of Kaspar in 2005. The newest model is covered in silicone patches that feel like skin to help children become more comfortable with touching people. So far, almost 300 kids in Britain with autism, a disorder that affects development of social interaction and communication, have played with a Kaspar robot as part of scientific research. The robot has only a handful of tricks, like saying "Hello, my name is Kaspar. Let's play together," laughing when his sides or feet are touched, raising his arms up and down, or hiding his face with his hands and crying out "Ouch. This hurts," when he's slapped too hard. But that is enough to keep autistic children enthralled. Ronnie Arloff, 4, was so eager to see Kaspar he banged on the door and shouted his name. Arloff opened his arms wide just like the robot. He also recognized facial expressions, saying "happy" when Kaspar was smiling and "sad" when he frowned. Nan Cannon-Jones, an autism consultant at the school, said the robot helps children understand emotions and language. "After Kaspar says 'ha-ha' when he's tickled, the children learn that's what laughing is," she said. Two of the 12 to 17 kids who attend the preschool have refused to play with Kaspar outright. The school also uses speech and music therapy. "You can't teach children to speak or play using a robot, but it helps reinforce what we're teaching them already, like how to share and be nice to people," Cannon-Jones said. Experts said it was a promising idea. "Autistic children like things that are made up of different parts, like a robot, so they may process what the robot does more easily than a real person," said Dr. Abigael San, a childhood clinical psychologist in London and spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society. She thought it was possible that skills children learned with the robot at the preschool could be transferred to their homes or the playground. But San warned that experts and parents shouldn't rely on robots too much. "We don't want children with autism to get too used to playing with robots," she said. "Ultimately, they need to be able to relate to other people." Kerstin Dautenhahn, the senior researcher at the University of Hertfordshire behind the Kaspar project, said she and colleagues don't have enough data to know if playing with Kaspar has sped up social skills in autistic children. They have published case studies describing improvements in up to a dozen children, but no long-term trials. Researchers say prospects for a comprehensive study depend on funding and teacher-parent participation, since they would have to track the kids for years — but they would like to carry one out. She said it might also be possible to modify Kaspar to help children with other developmental problems, like Down syndrome. Uta Frith, an emeritus professor of cognitive development at University College London, said the robot was valuable in providing children with social interactions but doubted a machine was necessary. "What's important for autistic kids is that they learn how to play imaginatively," she said. "And for that, you could use cooking pots or a shoe box." But Eden Sawczenko's mom says Kaspar's weekly visits seem to be helping. "Before, Eden would make a smiley face no matter what emotion you asked her to show," she said. "But now she is starting to put the right emotion with the right face. That's really nice to see." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Skater turns author: Yamaguchi hopes to inspire kids' dreams - Santa Rosa Press Democrat Posted: Published: Sunday, March 13, 2011 at 3:00 a.m. As a member of an elite club of U.S. Olympic gold medalists, Kristi Yamaguchi is forever branded a winner. MEET KRISTI YAMAGUCHI Where and when: Meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. March 17 at Redwood Empire Ice Arena, 1665 W. Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. At 4 p.m. March 18, Yamaguchi will meet fans and read at Copperfield's Books on Kentucky Street in Petaluma.Additional appearances: Yamaguchi also will make appearances at three Petaluma schools on March 18 that are open to the public. Visitors are required to sign in the school office. 9 a.m. at Grant Elementary, 200 Grant Ave., 11 a.m. at Meadow Elementary, 880 Maria Drive and 1:15 p.m. at McDowell Elementary, 421 S. McDowell Blvd. For information: Copperfieldsbooks.com; kristiyamaguchi.com. It can be a daunting label to live up to, however — especially when you achieve it at age 20. So when the then 37-year-old figure skater was invited to compete on "Dancing With the Stars" three years ago, she hesitated in a way she never appeared to on ice. "I was a fan of the show and I definitely knew it and enjoyed watching other people on it. But when they asked me, I wasn't sure I wanted to put myself out there," she admits. "It had been about four years since I had actually skated and 16 years since I had been judged. I thought, I'm not sure I want to be judged on live TV." But she fought back her fears of failure and hit the floorboards, applying typical Yamaguchi focus with partner Mark Ballas to win the 2008 season with a perfect 90-out-of-90 score. Olympic champions know that greatness grows out of big dreams. It's a lesson Yamaguchi, now the mother of two small daughters, is hoping to share with other kids in her first children's book, "Dream Big Little Pig" (Soucebooks Jabberwocky: $16.99). It's the story of the ungainly Poppy, who is repeatedly dissuaded from her dreams by critics until she starts listening to the supportive and encouraging voices that matter — her friends and family. Through hard work, and nurturing her big dream, she eventually becomes an ice-skating sensation. Also like Yamaguchi — who built a rich post-Olympics career skating professionally, entertaining and serving as a corporate and charity spokeswoman — Poppy by the end of the book is chasing new dreams, however difficult. Without completely giving away the ending, let's just say, pigs do fly. The athlete and philanthropist will be in Sonoma County this week for a series of readings and book signings to launch "Dream Big Little Pig," which was illustrated by veteran children's book artist Tim Bowers. She will hold a meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Snoopy's Home Ice in Santa Rosa and at 4 p.m. Friday at Copperfield's Books in Petaluma. She will also meet with kids at Grant, Meadow and McDowell schools in Petaluma throughout the day Friday, events that are open to the public. Writing a good children's book book is not as easy as it may look. Yamaguchi wrote a biography, "Always Dream," geared to young readers in 1998. But she said she has long wanted to do something a little lighter. "I became inspired having children of my own," says Yamaguchi, who grew up in Fremont and now lives in Alamo with her husband, fellow Olympian and retired hockey player Bret Hedican. The couple's two daughters are 7 and 5. Reading to them every night and seeing how they had favorite books they went back to again and again inspired her to create a book that would be one of those favorites on a child's shelf. The book goes hand-in-hand the work of her Always Dream Foundation, which takes on projects — like a new playground in Fremont where abled and disabled children can play together — that support and nurture children who may not have the encouragement and backing she had from her own parents: dad Jim, a dentist, and mom, Carole, who worked as a medical secretary to bring in extra income to pay for her training. "I always had great role models. Hopefully I can be as supporting and encouraging as they were," she says of her own parenting, "exposing my daughters as much as possible to what might become a passion for them and lending them as much support as possible, while knowing there might need to be some extra encouragement along the way. I really try to let them take the lead, but provide guidance when needed." Yamaguchi for years has used "Dream big" as her signature slogan. "When I was thinking of ideas for the book, I wanted it to be something that would inspire children to dream but also to know that dreams don't just happen," she says. "You have to help them along the way and work at them. And there are challenges." Her own challenges came almost before she could remember. She spent the first several years of her life in casts and then braces to correct turned-in legs and feet. "I remember trying to walk with the brace between my feet and it was really uncomfortable. It was hard to sleep with it," she said. "Crawling with it was one thing, but trying to get up and stand was tough because it was screwed onto the bottom of the shoes, so it was like walking on a bar." A natural optimist, she reflects back on it now as a blessing in disguise. "I was very fortunate. My parents were proactive and looked after it right away at such a young age," Yamaguchi said. Her mom initially resisted her pleas at age 6 for skating lessons until a doctor assured her it would help with strength and coordination. "I will always have bowlegs, but I think in some ways it helped my skating. Quite a few skaters are a little bowlegged and they say they're good for an athlete." Yamaguchi concedes that facing challenge is something she still wrestles with. "Dancing with the Stars" was "overwhelming," both physically and emotionally. While her upper body was trained for dance as a skater, the lower body movements required for dancing were completely different. "I'm conservative at times as to what challenge I take on. If I'm going to do it, it's going to be 100 percent. I have to make sure I have the time and the energy and focus to do it. But it's good in life to scare yourself every now and then." Producing a book wasn't easy either. "It's been three years in the works. I'm just tickled it's actually and finally being released. We're hoping Poppy goes on and experiences other adventures. Hopefully if everyone gets on board, she can have a life of her own. Now that'a fun goal." You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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