Social Robots and Board Games for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder | NCT07775937 | Trialant

RecruitingInterventionalNot ApplicableUpdated Aug 20, 2026

Social Robots and Board Games for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Effectiveness of Social Robot-Assisted Intervention Combined With Board Games on Socio-Emotional Skills in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Key facts that identify this study and show where it stands today.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07775937
Lead Sponsor: National Taiwan University HospitalOTHER
Overall Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Phase: Not Applicable
Enrollment: 20Estimated
Last Update Posted: Aug 20, 2026Actual
Start Date: Aug 18, 2026Actual
Primary Completion Date: Nov 30, 2026Estimated
Completion Date: Dec 31, 2026Estimated

Description

What the study is about and why it is being run, in the researchers' own words.

Official Title: Effectiveness of Social Robot-Assisted Intervention Combined With Board Games on Socio-Emotional Skills in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief Summary: This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness of combining social robot-assisted intervention with physical board games to improve socio-emotional skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Children with ASD often face challenges in emotion recognition, emotional regulation, and social interaction. This study aims to investigate whether integrating an interactive social robot (Kebbi) into board game activities can enhance children's social engagement, emotional comprehension, and cooperative behaviors compared to conventional occupational therapy. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the robot-assisted board game group or the conventional occupational therapy group.
Detailed Description

Conditions

The medical conditions and diseases this study investigates.

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive

Interventions

The treatments and procedures being evaluated in this study.

Social Robot-Assisted Board Game Intervention
Conventional Occupational Therapy

Participation

Who can join this study and the criteria used to decide.

Ages Eligible for Study: Child (0-17)
Sexes Eligible for Study: All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
Eligibility Criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Children aged 4 to 10 years, of any biological sex.

Confirmed clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Cognitive ability: Comprehensive Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers (CDIIT) results indicating borderline to normal cognitive function, with a Developmental Quotient (DQ) >= 70.

Socio-emotional ability: CDIIT socio-emotional subscale indicating borderline development, with a Developmental Quotient (DQ) between 70 and 84.

Legal guardian provides written informed consent and child provides assent where appropriate.

Exclusion Criteria:

Inability to comprehend or engage in interactive activities involving the Kebbi Air robot or physical board games.

Presence of other primary diagnoses affecting emotional or social functioning, such as severe neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric disorders, or ASD with severe emotional disturbances that prevent participation in intervention activities (CDIIT DQ < 70).

Inability to commit to regular weekly intervention sessions, or parental unwillingness to participate in required observational assessments and questionnaire completion.

Strong behavioral resistance or severe aversion to digital interactive tools or board game activities.

Inability to follow simple two-step verbal instructions after a preliminary 10-minute trial assessment conducted by the occupational therapist.

Design

How the study is designed and how its participant groups are organized.

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)

Contacts

The people to reach with questions about this study or how to join it.

LIAO SHUYI, MSContact

kukocliao@gmail.com+886-5-6330002#574322

Locations

Where the study is run and whether each site is currently recruiting.

National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin BranchRecruiting

Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan

Collaborators

The organizations and people involved in this study.

Lead Sponsor: National Taiwan University HospitalOTHER

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Other registered studies that closely resemble this one.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often encounter challenges in emotion recognition, emotional regulation, and social interactions. This pilot randomized controlled trial investigates the preliminary efficacy and feasibility of integrating a commercially available interactive social robot (Kebbi Air) with customized physical acrylic board games to enhance socio-emotional functioning in children with ASD, compared to conventional occupational therapy.

INTERVENTION PROTOCOL:

Participants are randomly allocated into one of two 8-week intervention programs (1 session per week, 30 minutes per session):

Experimental Group (Robot-Assisted Board Game Intervention):

Participants interact with the Kebbi Air social robot running a dedicated application developed in collaboration with digital media specialists. The curriculum comprises 14 structured social scenarios addressing basic emotion recognition (happiness, anger, sadness, fear, liking, jealousy, longing), appropriate social responses, and non-verbal cues. The robot utilizes facial expressions, body movements, and dynamic voice cues to present 10 interactive questions per script. Children collect 5 modular acrylic puzzle pieces per scenario representing body postures, clothing, dialogue, background, and objects, assembling them onto an emotion puzzle board. A certified occupational therapist facilitates the session by scaffolding comprehension and guiding peer interactions. The robot serves purely as an interactive instructional tool and does not record or store personal identifiable data.
Control Group (Conventional Occupational Therapy):

Participants receive standard, therapist-led occupational therapy targeting sensory-motor integration, emotional regulation, and social participation. Activities include sensory-based equipment (e.g., swings, therapy rollers, jumping mats) and structured social games (turn-taking, rule-following, and collaborative tasks) without robotic devices or specialized emotion puzzle board games.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Standardized assessments are administered at baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (Week 8) via parent-reported questionnaires:

Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) to assess social communication, social motivation, and autistic behaviors.
Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) to evaluate emotional, behavioral, and adaptive competencies.

SAMPLE SIZE AND RANDOMIZATION:

A total of 20 children aged 4 to 10 years with a confirmed clinical diagnosis of ASD (and meeting CDIIT developmental criteria) will be recruited and randomized (1:1 ratio) to either the experimental or control group.