Robots Sociales y Emocionales en la Educación Inclusiva: Promoviendo la Teoría de la Mente en Niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista

Claudia Oubiña Clares

doi:10.14198/DCN.30944

Authors

Claudia Oubiña Clares Universidad de Murcia, Spain https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0951-2481

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14198/DCN.30944

Keywords:

Educational inclusion, social robots, emotional robots, Theory of Mind, Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of using social and emotional robots as support tools to promote educational inclusion in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with special attention to their contribution to the development of Theory of Mind. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines across the PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases, applying previously established inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the screening process, ten studies focused on robot-based interventions targeting children diagnosed with ASD were selected. The results show improvements in skills related to Theory of Mind, such as perspective-taking, emotion recognition and understanding, as well as an increase in social participation during robot-guided interactions. These advances suggest that robots can generate highly motivating and structured learning environments that facilitate the acquisition of socio-emotional competencies. However, the review also identifies significant limitations, including the high cost of the devices, the dependence on specialized personnel for their implementation, and the limited generalization of learning to everyday contexts outside the controlled environment. Overall, social and emotional robots present themselves as a promising tool to support the educational inclusion of students with ASD, especially if more accessible programs are developed and scientific evidence is expanded through research with more diverse samples, standardized procedures, and longitudinal evaluations.

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