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Introduction: Job interviews are a major barrier to employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). During the coronavirus pandemic, establishing online job interview training at home was indispensable. However, many hurdles prevent individuals with ASD from concentrating on online job interview training. To facilitate the acquisition of interview skills from home for individuals with ASD, we developed a group interview training program with a virtual conferencing system (GIT-VICS Program) that uses computer graphics (CG) robots. Methods: This study investigated the feasibility of the GIT-VICS Program in facilitating skill acquisition for face-to-face job interviews in pre-post measures. In the GIT-VICS Program, five participants were grouped and played the roles of interviewees (1), interviewers (2), and human resources (2). They alternately practiced each role in GIT-VICS Program sessions conducted over 8 or 9 days over three consecutive weeks. Before and after the GIT-VICS Program, the participants underwent a mock face-to-face job interview with two experienced human interviewers (MFH) to evaluate its effect. Results: Fourteen participants completed the trial procedures without experiencing any technological challenges or distress that would have led to the termination of the session. The GIT-VICS Program improved their job interview skills (verbal competence, nonverbal competence, and interview performance). Discussion: Given the promising results of this study and to draw clear conclusions about the efficacy of CG robots for mock online job interview training, future studies adding appropriate guidance for manner of job interview by experts are needed., Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, art. no. 1198433; 2023

Introduction: Social skills training (SST) is used to help individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) better understand the perspectives of others and social interactions, develop empathy skills, and learn how to engage with others socially. However, many individuals with ASC cannot easily sustain high motivation and concentration during such an intervention when it is administered by humans. We developed a social skills training program using multiple humanoid robots (STUH), including an android robot, that aimed to enable individuals with ASC to become familiar with the perspectives of others and improve their sociability and empathy skills. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of STUH for these individuals. Methods: In STUH, we prepared 50 social exercises that consisted of conversations and behavioral interactions between an android robot and a simple humanoid robot. We prepared another humanoid robot that featured a cartoon-like and mechanical design, which played the role of host. In the first half-session of STUH, participants worked on the exercise from the perspective of an outsider. In the second half-session of STUH, they simulated experience by using robots as their avatars. The intervention associated with STUH was conducted for five days in total. We conducted an analysis of variance (ANOVA) featuring the intervention time point as the independent variable to examine changes in each score on the sociability index items. Results: In total, 14 individuals with ASC participated in the study. The results of multiple comparison tests using the Bonferroni method indicated that all sociability index items improved between preintervention and follow-up. Our program enabled the participants to become familiar with the perspectives of others and improve their sociability. Discussion: Given the promising results of this study, future studies featuring long-term follow-up should be conducted to draw definitive conclusions, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, art. no. 1168837; 2023