In the municipality of Ingenio, in Gran Canaria, a humanoid robot named Juani It is changing the way we work with children who have developmental disorders and neuromotor difficulties. This system, based on social robotics and powered by artificial intelligence, has been integrated into the treatment routine of dozens of children, becoming a stable support for families and professionals.
Far from being a technological curiosity, Juani has established himself as a true co-therapist within the Early Childhood Intervention Center (CAIT) of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, in Carrizal. The android helps improve mobility, daily autonomy and cognitive abilities of children with autism, ADHD or other diagnoses of developmental delay, always through play and structured activities.
A humanoid in the service of early intervention
At the CAIT of San Juan de Dios, in Carrizal, Around 30 children already interact regularly with the robot JuaniThe center's goal is to progressively increase the number of children benefiting from this technology. Internal projections indicate that this technology could reach... at least 60 minors in the short term, and even up to about 90 if it is extended to other services of the institution.
Juani was developed by the company Inrobics and is based on social robotics geared towards rehabilitationThe center's own team, made up entirely of women, decided to give it a feminine personality and name it Juani, respecting what they call the "Juan de Dios touch" in the way they accompany patients.
The device has an integrated camera that records the movements and the children's reactions. Thanks to this system, coordination is analyzed, attention span is assessed, and response times are measured during activities. All this data is stored in individual profiles and is used to track progress in detail.
Beyond the friendly appearance, Juani is designed to work systematically in early intervention sessions. The robot proposes exercises programmed by the therapeutic team and provides very precise information about the range of motion of the joints, something that was previously measured "by eye" or with manual tools such as the goniometer.
More precise therapies: from goniometer to digital report
The head of the Rehabilitation and Early Intervention service, Iraya Padrón, emphasizes that one of Juani's great advantages is the accuracy with which measures the degrees of articulation and the motor performance of each child. Whereas previously assessments relied largely on clinical observation, now the robot generates detailed digital reports at the end of each work cycle.
These reports record the evolution of mobility, movement patterns, and the quality of task execution. Objective information allows for adjusting therapies With greater precision, adapt the difficulty of the exercises and identify improvements or stagnation over time.
According to Padrón, The joint improvements are especially visible in children with greater motor limitations. The system offers a clear comparison between different sessions, which facilitates the work of the multidisciplinary team and supports clinical decisions with data.
The fact that the robot acts as a "co-therapist" does not replace the presence of professionals, but rather It reinforces its work with a supporting technological tool.The scheduling of activities and supervision remain in the hands of the healthcare staff, who use the information provided by Juani to better guide the intervention.
Learning through play: what sessions with Juani are like
The basis of how Juani works is simple in appearance: Guided repetition and positive reinforcementIn practice, the robot presents a series of motor and cognitive exercises that the children must imitate or solve, always in a playful environment. The goal is for the sessions to feel more like a game than traditional therapy.
In the motor area, Juani proposes sequences of movements such as touching different parts of the body, raising arms or legs, bending the torso, or performing specific gestures. While the robot executes these movements, the creature must imitate them, and the system offers immediate feedback to indicate whether the action has been performed correctly.
Cognitive activities include everything from color discrimination and impulse control even correcting absurd sentences or simple reasoning questions. The child responds via a tablet, pressing options like "yes" or "no," and Juani reacts with green or red lights depending on the answer, but always accompanied by positive messages of encouragement.
In addition, the robot incorporates rhythm and coordination exercises, such as short dance choreographiesThese activities combine motor skills and motivation. They allow for working on laterality, balance, motor planning, and body control in a more engaging way than conventional exercise routines.
Liam's case: more autonomy and less fear of movement
One of the clearest examples of Juani's impact is that of Liam, a six-year-old boy from Gran Canaria with global developmental delay. His parents began to notice difficulties when he was just eight months old, seeing that he did not pull himself up or manage to sit up like other babies his age, which led them to start different therapies.
Currently, Liam presents problems getting around and some instabilityTherefore, she attends the San Juan de Dios Early Childhood Intervention Center twice a week. Since she started working with Juani, her father, Ronaldo Antonio Gamboa, perceives clear changes in his daily life, especially in those tasks that require coordination and autonomy.
As he explains, everyday activities such as brushing your teeth or getting dressed They have become easier for the little boy. Routines that were previously difficult to establish are now repeated with less resistance, partly because Liam associates those movements with the games and exercises he does with the robot at the center.
In the sessions, Juani greets Liam with friendly phrases like "Hi, Liam, you look good, let's play!" and proposes challenges like "right hand to right eye." Even when the robot deliberately "makes a mistake" between what it says and what it does, It forces the child to pay attention already differentiate between the verbal command and the gesture, working at the same time on cognition and motor skills.
Impact on children with ASD, ADHD and other profiles
What was initially conceived as a tool focused on motor improvement has proven to be especially useful in other areas. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and ADHD They are responding very positively to working with Juani, both in terms of attention and behavior.
Families like the one in Hugo, six years oldHis children, diagnosed with ASD and ADHD, emphasize that the robot helps them understand that rules are not just impositions, but part of a structured game. His father, Daniel Hernández, points out that Hugo's psychomotor skills and laterality have improvedand that the initial fear of the robot gave way to a relationship of trust, almost as if it were just another person in the room.
For these children, who often present great dispersion of attentionJuani's presence acts as a "reward" or incentive. The fact that the session is perceived as playtime helps them stay more focused, participate longer, and reach the end of the activity in a positive mood.
The center's team emphasizes that motivation and commitment to therapy There has been a notable increase in participation among children with autism. The children come eagerly, ask about the robot, and show less resistance to repeating exercises that might otherwise be monotonous or tiring.
Language, cognition, and emotions: much more than movement
The Early Intervention Coordinator, Mariana LeónHe emphasizes that working with Juani goes beyond the physical aspect. He explains that the robot... It helps at a cognitive level and, progressively, in the area of ​​language.thanks to their ability to ask questions, correct mistakes, and maintain structured interactions.
The sessions include exercises such as deciding whether sentences like "Do I wash my clothes in the refrigerator?" or "Do I watch cartoons in the oven?" make sense. The child must respond via tablet, and the robot reinforces each attempt with comments like "Training with you is wonderful" or "I'm delighted to work with you," which fosters self-esteem and confidence.
This approach combines color discrimination, motor planning, and impulse control with simple challenges of comprehension and reasoning. All of this is integrated into a playful environment where failure is not penalized, but used as an opportunity to encourage further attempts.
Mariana León and the rest of the team agree that Motivation is one of the greatest achievements of this tool. The simple fact of knowing that "they are going to play with the robot" makes many children arrive at the center calmer, participate with greater involvement and repeat without complaint activities that require sustained effort.
Individual registration and long-term follow-up
Each child who works with Juani has access to a personalized profile in the systemwhere the results of the different sessions are stored. This record allows for comparisons over time and an objective assessment of progress in areas such as range of motion, precision of movements, sustained attention, and response speed.
For the center's staff, this information provides a solid foundation for adapt intervention programsto establish new goals or detect when it is appropriate to change the therapeutic strategy. The combination of quantitative data and direct observation facilitates a more complete view of each case.
This way of working is part of a commitment to the digitalization of early interventionBut without abandoning the human element. The presence of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and speech therapists remains central; the robot is integrated as just one more tool within the overall intervention.
For families like Liam and Hugo's, the perception is clear: The experience with Juani is proving to be very positive.The changes in autonomy, balance, attention and willingness towards therapy are reflected both at the center and at home, where daily routines become a little less of an uphill battle.
The implementation of the Juani robot at the CAIT of San Juan de Dios in Gran Canaria shows how the Social robotics and artificial intelligence can complement child rehabilitation when they are integrated into established professional teams. With more children participating each month, the experience of this Canary Islands center has become a prime example of how technology, used judiciously, can transform therapy into a more motivating, measurable space, better adapted to the real needs of children with developmental disorders.