CBS Miami joins RoboKind’s Cofounder Richard Margolin at KIPP Truth Academy in Dallas to learn more about Milo and his work with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The news coverage highlights one of Milo’s most beneficial lessons plans, the Cool Down methods, which helps ASD Learners develop self-regulating techniques.
“When you bring technology into it, whether it’s Milo or something else, you end up with a bridge where it’s something they can engage with,” Margolin tells CBS Miami, commenting on the success of Milo. “It’s something that’s less overwhelming to them.”
Milo’s cartoonish appearance is less threatening to children with ASD and is designed to speak 20% slower than the average human. He never gets tired or frustrated and is always willing to repeat a lesson as many times as needed. Repetition is key for teaching ASD learners.
Keenan, one of the first graders working with Milo, has shown great improvements in his verbal and social skills.
“He’s developed this clear set of skills to help him understand, how do I work to lessen other people’s frustration with me, which has helped him not get frustrated,” Katie Hill, the Principal of KIPP Truth Academy, told CBS. “Parents have just been so excited to see the development in their students, see their child’s ability to navigate unfamiliar situations.”
Robots4Autism’s curriculum has several modules to help ASD learners cope with different situations, such as birthday parties and play dates.
To service their diverse customer base, RoboKind is also developing new characters to work with their program. There are currently over 200 Milos in schools around the country. The company has a goal of getting over 2000 units into the school systems, by year’s end, to help create a better environment for ASD learners.