Robots that help youngsters to help themselves

 

5% of children struggle with everyday tasks.

 

Around one in 20 children have Developmental Coordination Disorder (also known as dyspraxia) which is characterised by poor coordination and clumsiness. Often misunderstood, children with the disorder struggle with tasks like writing or tying their shoelaces, and may be unable to hop, jump or catch a ball.

 

Problems can undermine a child’s self-esteem

 

Dr Mark Mon-Williams from the School of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen is heading up a team looking at a possible way to help these children, He said:

”Most of us take straightforward daily tasks for granted – like reaching out to pick up a glass of water for example. 

We can do these things without almost any awareness of what we are doing, but for the 5% of children who have movement difficulties, everyday tasks can cause endless problems. 

For some of these children, simply putting on their own coat can seem an impossible hurdle. Understandable this can undermine a child’s self-esteem.”

 

 

What is the Project Trying to Achieve?

 

Space-age gadget

An Action Medical Research team has developed a robotic arm to teach co-ordination to children with these movement problems. It may sound out of this world, but it is hoped that many children mith movement difficulties will benefit from it.

Andy Proctor of Action Medical Research said:

”Robot technology has come on a lon way very quickly, so we are now looking at the ways it can be used to help children develop co-ordination. At the moment there are only limited resources for occupational therapy and some children only get seen once a year.

This amazing piece of equipment will allow them as much time as they need to practice and re-practice their motor skills and hopefully it will allow them to make discernable improvements quickly."

 

What are the Researcher’s Credentials?

Dr Mark Mon-Williams (pictured left) and his team in Aberdeen

Project Leader:

Dr Mark Mon-Williams PhD, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen

Project Team:

Dr R C Richardson, The Child Health Institute, Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital

Professor B Bhakta FRCP, The Academic Unit of Musculoskeletal and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Leeds

Dr J H G Williams MBBS, MSc, MRSPsych, The School of Computer Science, University of Manchester

This research project compiles a “dream team” of world leading experts in psychology, rehabilitation, engineering, child health, computer science and occupational therapy. They have expertise in both clinical diagnosis and research work with children who have special needs, and have published extensively in premier international journals. The team are working with state of the art technology on a truly groundbreaking, cutting edge project.

 

Who Stands to Benefit from this Research and How?

Robotic arm provides guiding force

 

Initially the project will be looking at children with dyspraxia and working on weekly sessions with the robotic arm in order to help them to develop better co-ordination.

Dr Mon-Williams explains:

”The children will be linked up to the equipment and be given fun exercises and games that are specially designed to help with important everyday movements.

The robotic system will apply guiding forces to the children’s arms and hands, encouraging appropriate movements and discouraging inappropriate ones.

It will also monitor how the children move, measuring things like reaction times, the speed of movement and how joint configurations unfold over time.

Ultimately we believe this ground-breaking new therapy could have exciting ramifications for people with a wide range of disorders, especially Cerebral Palsy.”

Initially the robot therapy is being trialled at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital. However, if it proves successful, researchers hope it could be developed into a tool children could practice on at home.