A content validated tool to observe autism behavior in child-robot interaction

This research presents the validation study of a qualitative tool to analyze the response in robot-based intervention. The 24 behavioral items in the tool were determined through routine observations carried out by clinicians and the definitions of autism adopted by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). 34 experts determined content validity and tool reliability by viewpoints through the Likert scale. The tool was found to have good content validity with more than 67% of experts scored at least 3 on the 5-point Likert scale. Cronbach´s alpha coefficient of 0.872 reflected the tool´s content reliability and internal consistency. The tool was used to analyze the behavior response of children with autism when exposed to a humanoid robot. It functioned as a score-sheet to compare the behavior of autistic children with and without the presence of a robot. These findings put forward a tool with contents considered valid to evaluate behavior outcome of studies involving children with autism and robots.