COVID-19 and autism research: Perspectives from around the globe: The need of autism research using robotics for combating COVID-19

ABSTRACT

During an emergency such as COVID-19, tools that have the potential to help deal with such situations attract a lot of attention. However, related concerns tend to be neglected, and this may cause serious problems, such as the addiction of children with ASD to robot interactions, causing them to interact only with robots and not humans in the future. In the field of ASD support, long-term perspectives, such as the idea that children with ASD can grow up to lead successful and independent lives, are especially important. We would like to advance research on using social robots for children with ASD while also addressing related concerns based on long-term perspectives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)