This document discusses a research study that used a robotic agent to help teach social interaction skills to children with autism. The study involved pairing three sets of children - some with prior robot experience and some without - with a robot designed to avoid obstacles, follow heat sources, and generate speech. The children who had seen the robot before interacted with it more socially than those who had not. The results suggest that robots may help teach social skills to children with autism but would need improved environmental awareness to be effective outside the classroom.