Robot-mediated therapy to reduce worrying in persons with visual and intellectual disabilities

Selecting optimal wearables for measuring physiological arousal in robot-delivered mindfulness-based exercises

While social robots show promise for therapeutic interventions, accurate assessments of (vulnerable) participants' affective outcomes require attention. The careful selection of devices for recording autonomic processes in response to stress-inducing and relaxing exercises is essential to ensure data quality recordings and participants' comfort. This foundational study assessed two commonly utilized devices to record electrodermal activity (EDA), indexed through skin conductance, concerning their sensitivity to stress-relaxation manipulations and social validity during a robot intervention: a sock with a Shimmer device and a wrist-worn Empatica E4. We aimed to select the most sensitive and easy-to-wear one as a precursor to a larger intervention study featuring mindfulness-based relaxation exercises delivered by an NAO robot. The findings, based on 28 healthy Dutch-speaking adult volunteers wearing both devices, revealed sensitivity in detecting EDA variations in arousal following stressful (increase) and Robot-delivered mindfulness-based relaxation (decrease) exercises, further corroborated by self-reports. Bland-Altman results suggested little agreement between the two devices and lower sensitivity for the Empatica E4. No statistically significant differences concerning wearing comfort between the Empatica E4 and the Shimmer devices emerged. Although both devices independently showed sensitivity to stress/relaxation manipulation, the choice for one or the other should be informed by the activities in the intervention.

Investigating functional visual loss in children and adolescents

Patients with a functional neurological disorder (FND) experience a lower psychological quality of life and have more mental health concerns. These patients deserve to be treated with a treatment that is evidence-based and proven effective. However, when we look children or adolescents with functional visual disorder (FVD; a subgroup of FND), we see that there is not much evidence for the effectiveness of their treatments. Possible reasons for this lack of evidence and the difficulties in studying children and adolescents with FVD are discussed in this article. This article concludes with possible ways of persuading children and adolescents with FVD in participating in research.

Robot-mediated therapy to reduce worrying in persons with visual and intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

The study explored the use of a robot-mediated therapeutic intervention in persons with visual and intellectual disabilities.

METHOD

Three robot-mediated intervention sessions were developed to teach three coping skills for worrying. Effectiveness was examined using a multiple-baseline case study design (N = 7). Baseline, pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments included social validity, severity of worrying (PSWQ-C-NL), and observations by caregivers (SDQ). Short checklists on worrying were repeated throughout baseline and intervention stages. Transcripts of the sessions were analysed for participants' emotional openness.

RESULTS

Social validity was equally high before and after the intervention. The intervention did not impact the severity of worrying, although mentor caregivers reported a lower impact of personal difficulties for participants. We found no change in self-disclosure towards the robot over sessions.

CONCLUSIONS

The participants' positive responses warrant further exploration of using robot-mediated therapy for persons with visual and intellectual disabilities. Recommendations for additional adaptations are discussed.