TERAPIA ASSISTIDA POR ROBÔ E O TEABOT

UMA EXPERIÊNCIA NA APAE DE SERRA TALHADA

Abstract

People with alexithymia face challenges in expressing and interpreting facial expressions and voice tones, impacting their emotional understanding and ability to recognize others’
emotions. Research shows that the prevalence of this disorder is significantly higher in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), affecting nearly 50% of this population. This
study presents the TEABot, a robot equipped with artificial intelligence designed to assist in
emotional facial expression training through robot-assisted therapy conducted by the multidisciplinary team at APAE, Serra Talhada. Nine children, aged 2 to 9 years, actively participated
in a total of 42 therapy sessions, with an interaction time of 950 minutes and 14,000 images
recorded by the robot. The children showed a high level of interest during interactions, and the
TEABot played a significant role in their emotional learning process. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many participants could not attend the association as they were in high-risk
groups. To address this, the TEABot was adapted into a gamified application, enabling patients
to continue their therapy at home in a fun and safe manner.