Using robots with students who have special needs, especially those on the autism spectrum, is being called a “game-changer.”
The department of special education at Colorado’s St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) worked all year with the Innovation Center’s robotics program to help students with special needs improve their social skills.
A team of high school students developed Socially Assistive Robotics applications at the Innovation Center. In January, they partnered with teachers and staff at five district schools and used robots to support special education students with self-regulation, self-determination and socialization, according to Mari Stevenson, SVVSD special education area coordinator.
The schools participating in the collaboration are Longmont Estates Elementary, Eagle Crest Elementary, Indian Peaks Elementary, Longs Peak Middle School and Soaring Heights PK-8.
“It’s a collaboration and partnership between the Special Education Department, (special education) teachers, technology teachers, Innovation Center staff and (high school) student designers, all working as a team not only to build (the tools) but elevating the technology integration for all of our kids,” Stevenson said.
Student designers have met twice a month to learn how to program the robots and determine what the robot will do and say as it interacts with staff and students, she said. Teachers worked together to come up with a plan for integrating the robots into the classroom setting and based on a student’s specific needs.
“Settings are based on student IEP goals … to target skill areas to make a more significant impact,” Stevenson said. “Some of the students we are using this with are students who have not been responding much to human intervention and are actually responding to the robots.”
One student had minimal verbal language skills at the beginning of the term. After three sessions with the socially assistive robot “Misty” and a teacher facilitator, the student was stringing full sentences together, she said.
“The student started three weeks ago and now he is actually communicating verbally and more intelligibly to other adults, whereas prior to these sessions, he was not,” Stevenson said. “This is just a pilot, and we are already starting to see this (impact), and it’s pretty powerful.”
The program consists of four teams of seven student designers, seven teachers and an SVVSD behavioral coach. Between 10 and 15 students received support through the project, according to Stevenson.
The teams could grow to as many as 30 students as teachers learn how to use and implement the technology. The technology could also benefit people learning English as well as counselors and speech pathologists.
Axel Reitzig, coordinator of innovation at the SVVSD Innovation Center, said the use of robots with special education students, especially students on the autism spectrum, is a “game-changer” because they reduce the number of stimuli that can provoke sensory overload.
“When interacting with people … the complexity of interactions can sometimes be too much. A robot simplifies that interaction and decreases the anxiety,” he said. “Also English language learners don’t feel like they are being judged. Their emotional state is much more positive.”
SVVSD’s Innovation Center worked on Misty robots for the last eight years after the district turned its attention to artificial intelligence and robotics in 2014, Reitzig said.
“Where could a Misty robot end up? Could it be a standard piece of equipment that could be found across the district in special ed programs, a counselor’s office or as a concierge service?” he said. “We are just scratching the surface.”
The teams will present their pilot program findings to schools and partners during the Innovate to Elevate Exhibition Night at the Innovation Center on May 17. The district will review the preliminary data and discuss how the program can be used across the district.
The main purpose of the exhibition is to get feedback from key stakeholders and have them ask the team hard questions, Reitzig said.
