Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling
This article presents a critical study of the discursive positioning of social robots as intermediaries in remedial practices of care in autism therapy. It begins by examining the promotion of social robots to augment autistic children’s social skills as a form of remediation in which they take on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Simon Dawes, Centre d’histoire culturelle des sociétés contemporaines (CHCSC), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Media Theory |
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| Online Access: | https://journalcontent.mediatheoryjournal.org/index.php/mt/article/view/585 |
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| _version_ | 1849430238552915968 |
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| author | Ian Roderick |
| author_facet | Ian Roderick |
| author_sort | Ian Roderick |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This article presents a critical study of the discursive positioning of social robots as intermediaries in remedial practices of care in autism therapy. It begins by examining the promotion of social robots to augment autistic children’s social skills as a form of remediation in which they take on a mediator role between therapist and patient. Drawing from McGuire’s genealogy of autism advocacy, I argue that the therapy robots operate as part of a network of coordinating and normalizing strategies that emerges in response to the evident “crisis” of autism. Hayle’s concept of material metaphor is then applied to highlight the potential discursive-material relations of the interposing role played by the robot. Finally, I argue that though designed as an enabling device, in actuality, metaphoric transferences make the robots mimetically disabling.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-31ebed7b3e8a4583a2c9c793e2fbb9fa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2557-826X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Simon Dawes, Centre d’histoire culturelle des sociétés contemporaines (CHCSC), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media Theory |
| spelling | doaj-art-31ebed7b3e8a4583a2c9c793e2fbb9fa2025-08-20T03:28:05ZengSimon Dawes, Centre d’histoire culturelle des sociétés contemporaines (CHCSC), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)Media Theory2557-826X2023-12-017210.70064/mt.v7i2.585Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic DisablingIan Roderick This article presents a critical study of the discursive positioning of social robots as intermediaries in remedial practices of care in autism therapy. It begins by examining the promotion of social robots to augment autistic children’s social skills as a form of remediation in which they take on a mediator role between therapist and patient. Drawing from McGuire’s genealogy of autism advocacy, I argue that the therapy robots operate as part of a network of coordinating and normalizing strategies that emerges in response to the evident “crisis” of autism. Hayle’s concept of material metaphor is then applied to highlight the potential discursive-material relations of the interposing role played by the robot. Finally, I argue that though designed as an enabling device, in actuality, metaphoric transferences make the robots mimetically disabling. https://journalcontent.mediatheoryjournal.org/index.php/mt/article/view/585AutismRobotsDisabilityMetaphorRemediationMimesis |
| spellingShingle | Ian Roderick Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling Media Theory Autism Robots Disability Metaphor Remediation Mimesis |
| title | Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling |
| title_full | Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling |
| title_fullStr | Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling |
| title_short | Autism Robot Therapy, Remediation, and Mimetic Disabling |
| title_sort | autism robot therapy remediation and mimetic disabling |
| topic | Autism Robots Disability Metaphor Remediation Mimesis |
| url | https://journalcontent.mediatheoryjournal.org/index.php/mt/article/view/585 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ianroderick autismrobottherapyremediationandmimeticdisabling |