Social Robots in Learning Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study

The use of social robots has the potential to improve learning experiences in life skills for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Current research in the context of social robots in education has largely focused on how children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interact with social robots primarily without a tablet, with almost no research investigating how beneficial social robots can be in supporting learning for adults with IDs. This research explores how interactions with a social humanoid robot can contribute to learning for communities of adults with ID, and how adults with ID want to engage with these robots. This exploratory study involved observation and semi-structured interviews of eleven participants with ID (in three groups, supported by their support workers) receiving information from a semi-humanoid social robot and interacting with the robot via its tablet. Two robot applications were developed to deliver content based on the participating disability support organization’s life skills curriculum for healthy lifestyle choices and exercise, considering a variety of modalities (visual, embodied, audio). The study identified four ways in which participants interact, and our findings suggest that both the physical presence of the robot and the support of the tablet play a key role in engaging adults with ID. Observation of participant interactions both with the robot and with each other shows that part of the robot’s value in learning was as a facilitator of communication.