This paper presents a robotic platform suitable for Human-Robot Interactions (HRI), with focus on verbal interactions. It is obvious that interactive and social skills are two indispensable requirements in many application areas where robots and humans need to interact with each other. Consequently, we have developed a cognitive robot companion, i.e. a parrot like robot, with main focus on verbal interaction with humans. A possible educational or therapeutic aspects of this robot for children who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been considered. In other words the robot is designed intended to comfort and emotionally interact with autistic children. Different types of functionalities are introduced and discussed in the light of their potential investigation in humanrobot experiments. The platform is intended for research in other HRI applications, such as concept learning and robotainment. The initial results show the attractiveness of the designed robot for humans and its great potential for success in using this platform for rehabilitation in social interaction, edutainment and entertainment.