Enhancing Well-being Through Innovative Interaction
Improving Communication Between Healthcare Professionals and Autistic Children
The FEEL GOOD! project is an innovative research initiative aiming to support autistic people in improving communication and interaction during medical visits.
By integrating social robots, serious games, and video modeling, the project seeks to create tools that foster more effective communication, mutual understanding, and a better overall experience in clinical settings
The project is structured in two main steps:
Step 1
A social robot is introduced as a mediator in an interactive serious game, designed to help autistic people practice communication acts in engaging scenarios.
Step 2
The use of video modeling, facilitated by the social robot, aims to support communication and adaptive behaviors in clinical contexts.
This approach allows for continuous training both in specialized centers and at home, enabling families to assist autistic individuals in familiar environments. Emphasis is placed on tailoring the intervention to the individual’s needs, following the DSM-5’s framework for recognizing different levels of support required and provide each child with the appropriate help based on their specific needs.
Collaboration and Scope
FEEL GOOD! is part of the PRIN 2022 program and involves collaboration between the University of L’Aquila (Project Leader), the University of Bari Aldo Moro, and the University of Turin. The initiative is backed by €69,000 in funding and spans a period of 24 months (2023–2025). The University of Turin’s team includes Fabiana Vernero (PA), Sara Capecchi (RU), and Ph.D. candidate Linda Pigureddu, whose work focuses on inclusivity and empathy in human-robot interaction.
It represents a step forward in developing inclusive technologies that empower autistic people, offering tools to enhance communication and create more accessible healthcare experiences.
Want to dive deeper into the science?
Explore the publications:
Linda Pigureddu, Cristina Gena, Berardina Nadja De Carolis, Margherita Attanasio, and Monica Mazza. 2024. “Robots to Make You Feel Good: Supporting Autistic Youths in Managing Medical Visit Challenges with Robot-Assisted Therapy“. In Adjunct Proceedings of the 32nd ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP Adjunct ’24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 220–224. https://doi.org/10.1145/3631700.3664892
