Child and parent perceptions of acceptability and therapeutic value of a socially assistive robot used during pediatric rehabilitation

Abstract

Purpose: Socially assistive robots are emerging as a method of supporting the rehabilitation of children with physical disabilities. To date there has been no in-depth analysis of parent and child perspectives regarding the use of socially assistive robots for pediatric rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to capture the experiences of parents and children who participated in a rehabilitation session with a socially assistive rehabilitation robot. Methods: An interpretivist qualitative design was used. Semi-structured interviews of five parent-child pairs were undertaken to examine their experiences during a rehabilitation session with the NAO robot. Interviews were analyzed using i..