Table 2.

The intervention protocol

Step	Description
Step1: Free play	The robot welcomes the child and invites him/her to start playing in the area provided. During the play the robot empowers the child
Step 2: Role playing-symbolic play	The robot initiates everyday life scenarios e.g. Birthday scenario, Restaurant scenario, Superheroes scenario and asks the child age-appropriate questions to empower symbolic play
Step 3: Cognitive training	Mimics: the child performs gross motor imitation tasks managed by the robot only with different levels of difficulty
	Joint Attention: During a game of “treasure hunt”, the robot answers the child’s questions and guides the child to find the desired object
	Memory: The robot instructs the child how to play the game and responds accordingly if the choice was successful or unsuccessful
	False belief task: The robot helps the child understand other person’s beliefs by asking specific questions
Step 4: Empathy training	The robot trains the child to “emotion recognition”, “body language decoding”, and “appropriate responding”, through school scenarios e.g. New friends
Step 5: Behaviour training	The robot involves the child in behaviour training scenarios targeting peer relationships, self-care, daily activities, anger management through school scenarios e.g. Dealing with bullies
Step 6: Relaxation training	The robot teaches the child different relaxation techniques for anxiety management
Step 7: Dance together	The robot and the child dance together to entertain themselves