Autism spectrum disorder (asd) presents challenges in communication, motor skills, and social interaction, often requiring tailored interventions to support development. technology-based tools, including robotics, offer promising solutions, with robots showing potential to foster social behaviors and gross motor skill-building in children with asd (cwasd). however, their use in special education remains limited due to the high cost of humanoid robots and a lack of structured, evidence-based studies applicable to real-world school settings. this study addresses these gaps by investigating the use of affordable toy robots in triadic interventions involving the child, special educator, and robot to enhance gross motor skills and language acquisition. the intervention was conducted over 24 sessions spanning three months, employing an evidence-based design aligned with the children’s academic curriculum. novel approaches included targeted interventions for gross motor challenges, a relatively unexplored area for robot-mediated learning. our findings demonstrate sustained improvements in language and motor skills, reduced reliance on educators, and successful skill generalization beyond robot-assisted sessions. by integrating clinical evaluation metrics and emphasizing the educator’s role, this study provides a practical framework for implementing robotics in special education. these results underscore the potential of affordable robots as effective tools in addressing developmental goals for cwasd in institutional settings.