Exploring Imitative Abilities and Stereotypies: Comparing Robots and Human Operators in Autistic Children.

A clinical trial, NCT06144528, is being conducted in Italy to investigate the effectiveness of a social robot called QTrobot in interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study aims to compare the attention, imitation, and repetitive behaviors of children with ASD when interacting with a human operator versus the QT robot. The trial will involve 30 children with ASD, aged 4 to 13 years, who have an IQ greater than 75 and no motor deficits due to another clinical condition. The study is expected to be completed by April 30, 2024. [Extracted from the article]