Technology-enriched social story intervention: Engaging children with autism spectrum disorders in social communication

Year 2020, , 96 - 119, 30.06.2020

Huda Almumen Khaled Almuhareb

https://doi.org/10.20489/intjecse.726397

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a technology-enriched Social Story intervention on the social engagement of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). A single-subject, multiple baseline design was used to investigate the effects of the intervention on the acquisition of gratitude skills by seven elementary students with ASD in a Kuwaiti self-contained Special Education school. Results demonstrated that participants accelerated their gratitude skills (expressing gratitude words use) after reading the Social Story delivered via iPads. Students increased the number of “thank you” words uttered by them in multiple contexts both in and out- school settings. Implications along with recommendations for future research and practice are provided.

Keywords

Social Story, technology, iPad, Autism Spectrum Disorders

References

• Acar, C., Tekin-Iftar, E., & Yikmis, A. (2017). Effects of mother-delivered social and video modeling in teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorders. The Journal of Special Education, 50(4), 215-226. doi:10.1177/002246649164
• American Psychiatric Association [APA]. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. DC: Author.
• Archer, A., & Hughes, C. (2011). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. NY: The Guilford Press.
• Asaro-Saddler, K. (2016). Using evidence-based practices to teach writing to children with autism spectrum disorders. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 60(1), 79-85. doi: 10.1080/1045988X.2014.981793
• Barnard-Brak, L., Ivey-Hatz, J., Ward, A., & Wei, T. (2014). Self-regulation and social interaction skills among children with autism across time. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 8, 271-279.
• Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind and autism: A fifteen-year review. Understanding Other Minds: Perspectives from Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2, 3-20.
• Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A., & Firth, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind” ? Cognitive Development, 21, 37-46.
• Beaumont, R., & Sofronoff, K. (2008). A new computerized advanced theory of mind measure for children with Asperger syndrome: The atomic. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(2), 249-260. doi: 10.1007/s10803-007-0384-2
• Bellini, S., Peters, J., Benner, L., & Hopf, A. (2007). A meta-analysis of school-based social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Remedial and Special Education, 28, 153-162.
• Benish, T., & Bramlett, R. (2011). Using social stories to decrease aggression and increase positive peer interactions in normally developing pre-school children. Educational Psychology in Practice, 27(1), 1-17. doi:10.1080/02667363.2011.549350
• Bloomberg, L., & Volpe, M. (2012). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A road map from beginning to end. CA: SAGE Publication Inc.
• Bromley, K. (2006). Technology and writing. In M. McKenna, L., Labbo, R., Kieffer, & D. Reinking, International handbook of literacy and technology (pp. 349-353). NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Bruce, D., Di Cesare, D., Kaczorowski, T., Hashey, A., Boyd, E., Mixon, T., & Sullivan, M. (2013). Multimodal composing in special education: A review of the literature. Journal of Special Education Technology, 28(2), 25-42.
• CAST. (2020). About Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.XQDbiK17HR0
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDCP]. (2016). Facts about ASD. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html
• Chezan, L., & Drasgow, E. (2010). Pairing vocalizations with preferred edibles and toys may produce a modest increase in the frequency of vocalizations in three youngchildren with autism. Evidence-based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 4(2), 101-104.
• Crozier, S., & Tincani, M. (2005). Using modified social story to decrease disruptive behavior of a child with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20(3), 150-157.
• Crozier, S., & Tincani, M. (2007). Effects of social stories on prosocial behavior of preschool children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 37, 1803-1814. doi: 10.1007/s1080-006-0315-7
• Delano, M., Snell, M. (2006). The effects of social stories on the social engagement of children with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8(1), 29-42.doi: 10.1177/10982007060080010501
• Del Valle, P., McEachern, A., & Chamber, H. (2001). Using social stories with autistic children. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 14, 187-197.
• Dodd, S., Hupp, S., Jewell, J., & Krohn, E. (2007). Using parents during a social story intervention for two children diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 20, 217-229. doi: 10.1007/s10882-007-9090-4
• Egbert, J., & Sanden, S. (2015). Writing education research: Guidelines for publications scholarship. NY: Routledge.
• Flores, M., Hill, D., Faciane, L., Edwards, M., Tapley, S., & Dowling, S. (2014). The apple iPad as assistive technology for story-based interventions. Journal of Special Education Technology, 29(2), 27-37.
• Garfield, J., Peterson, C., & Perry, T. (2001). Social cognition, language acquisition and the development of the theory of mind. Mind & Language, 16, 494-541.
• Ghanouni, P., Jarus, T., Zwicker, J., Lucyshyn, J., Mow, K., Ledingham, A. (2019). Social stories for children with autism spectrum disorder: Validating the content of a virtual reality program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 660-668. doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3737-0
• Gies, M., & Porretta, D. (2015). Video prompting and its application to physical activity settings for individuals with developmental disabilities. PALAESTRA, 29(4), 31-35.
• Goldsmith, T., & LeBlanc, L. (2004). Use of technology in interventions for children with autism. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 1, 166-178.
• Grandin, T. (2011). The way I see it. TX: Future Horizons, Inc.
• Gray, C. (1994). Comic strip conversations: Illustrated interactions that teach conversation. TX: Future Horizons, Inc.
• Gray, C. (1995). Teaching children with autism to read social situations. In K. Quill (Ed.), Teaching children with autism: Strategies to enhance communication and socialization (pp. 219-242). NY: Delmar.
• Gray, C. (1998). Social stories and comic strip conversations with students with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. In E. Schopler, G. Mesibov, & L. Kunce (Eds.), Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism? (pp. 167-198). NY: Plenum.
• Gray, C. (2000). Writing social stories with Carol Gray. Arlington, TX: Future Horizon.
• Gray, C. (2002). Friendship on the horizon: Can social stories pave the road? Includes watch, listen, move closer, ease in, a 10 page rip-out insert. Jenison Autism Journal,14(3).
• Gray, C. (2010). The new social story book. TX: Future Horizons.
• Gray, C. (2020). Carol Gray Social Stories: What is a social story? Retrieved from https://carolgraysocialstories.com/social-stories/what-is-it/
• Gray, C., & Garand, J. (1993). Social stories: Improving responses of students with autism with accurate social information. Focus on Autistic Behavior, 8(1), 1-10.
• Griffin, H., Griffin, L., Fitch, C., Albera, V., & Gingras, H. (2006). Educational interventions for individuals with Asperger syndrome. Intervention in School andClinic, 41(3), 150-155.
• Hagiwara, T., & Myles, B. (1999). A multimedia social story intervention: Teaching skills to children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 14,82-95.
• Hanley-Hochdorfer, K., Bray, M., Kehle, T., & Elinoff, M. (2010). Social stories to increase verbal initiation in children with autism and Asperger’s disorder. School Psychology Review, 39(3), 484-492.
• Hillock, J. (2011). Written expression: Why is it difficult and what can be done? In K. McCoy (Ed.), Autism from the teacher’s perspective (pp. 321-354). CO: Love Publishing Co.
• Hobson, R. (1993). Autism and the developmental of mind. UK: Erlbaum.
• Horner, R., Carr, E., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. (2005). The use of single subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education. Exceptional Children, 71(2), 165-179.
• Howorth, S. (2015). Effects of using thinking before, while, and after reading strategy with digital text annotation on science comprehension of students with autism. (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3714610)
• Huck, S. (2012). Reading statistics and research. MA: Pearson Education Inc.
• Hudock, R., Kashima-Ellingson, Y., & Bellini, S. (2011). Increasing responses to verbal greetings in children with autism spectrum disorders: A comparison of the effective social story and generic story interventions. School Psychology Forum: Research in Practice, 5(3), 103-113.
• Hutchins, T., & Prelock, P. (2008). Supporting theory of mind development: Considerations and recommendations for professionals providing services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(4), 340-364.
• Ivey, M., Heflin, J., & Alberto, P. (2004). The use of social stories to promote independent behaviors in novel events for children with PDD-NOS. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(3), 164-176.
• Kagohara, D., Achmadi, D., Meer, L., Lancioni, G., O’Reilly, M., Lang, R., Marschik, P., Sutherland, D., Ramdoss, S., Green, V., & Sigafoos, J. (2012). Teaching two students with Asperger syndrome to greet adults using social stories and video modeling. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 25, 241-251.
• Karal, M., & Wolfe, P. (2018). Social story effectiveness on social interaction for students with autism: A review of the literature. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 53(1), 44-58. Kazdin, A. (2011). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. NY: Oxford University Press.
• Knight, V., McKissick, B., & Saunders, A. (2013). A review of technology-based Interventions to teach academic skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2628-2648. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1814-y
• Kodak, T., Clements, A., Paden, A., LeBlanc, B., Mintz, J., & Toussaint, K. (2015). Examination of the relation between an assessment of skills and performance on auditory-visual conditional discriminations for children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48(1), 52-70. doi: 10.1002/jaba.160
• Koegel, L., Matos-Fredeen, R., Lang, R., & Koegel, R. (2012). Interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders in inclusive settings. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(3), 401-412.
• Kouch, H., & Mirenda, P. (2003). Social story interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 18, 219-227. doi: 10.1007/s10803-009-0931-0
• Kreider, C., Bendixen, R., Young, M., Prudencio, S., McCarty, C., & Mann, W. (2016). Social networks and participation with others for youth with learning, attention and autism spectrum disorders: Réseaux sociaux et participation avec les autres, chez des adolescents ayant des troubles d’apprentissage, de l’attention et du spectre de l’autisme. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 83, 14-26.
• Kunda, M., & Goel, A. (2011). Thinking in pictures as a cognitive account of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1157-1177.
• Leaf, J., Oppenheim-Leaf, M., Call, N., Sheldon, J., Sherman, J., Taubman, M., McEachin, J., & Dayharsh, J., & Leaf, R. (2012). Comparing the teaching interaction procedure to social stories for people with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 45(2), 281-298.
• Locke, J., Ishijima, E., Kasari, C., & London, N. (2010). Loneliness, friendship quality and the social networks of adolescents with high-functioning autism in an inclusive school setting. Journal of Research in Special Education Needs, 10, 74-81.
• Lomier, P., Simpson, R., Myles, B., & Ganz, J. (2002). The use of social stories as a preventive behavioral intervention in a home setting with a child with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4(1), 53-60.
• Matson, L., Dempsey, T., & LoVullo, A. (2009). Characteristics of social skills for adult with intellectual disability, autism and PDD-NOS. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3, 207-213.
• Min, L., & Wah, L. (2011). Teaching of speech, language and communication skills for young children with severe autism spectrum disorders: What do educators need to know? New Horizons in Education, 59(3), 16-27.
• Mowling, C., Menear, K., Dennen, A., & Fittipaldi-Wert, J. (2018). Using technology and the ecological model of constraints to develop story-based interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. Strategies, 31(3). 5-12. doi: 10.1080/08924562.2018.1442274
• National Autism Center [NAC] (2015). Findings and conclusions: National standards project phase 2. MA: Author.
• O’Connor, E. (2009). Social stories and autism: The use of social story DVDs to reduce anxiety levels: A case study of a child with autism and learning disabilities. Support for Learning, 24(3), 133-136.
• Ozdemir, S. (2008). The effectiveness of social stories on decreasing disruptive behaviors of children with autism: Three case studies. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 38, 1689-1696. doi: 10.1007/s1080-008-0551-0
• Pane, H., Sidener, T., Vladescu, J., & Nirgudkar, A. (2015). Evaluating function-based social stories with children with autism. Behavior Modification, 39(6), 912-931. doi: 10.1177/0145445515603708
• Pierangelo, R., & Giuliani, G. (2012). Assessment in special education: A practical approach. MA: Pearson Education Inc.
• Qi, C., Barton, E., Collier, M., Lin, L., & Montoya, C. (2015). A systematic review of effects of social stories interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 33(1), 25-34. doi: 10.1177/1088357615613516
• Quirmbach, L., Lincoln, A., Feinberg-Gizzo, M., Ingersoll, B., & Andrews, S. (2009). Social stories: Mechanisms of effectiveness in increasing game play skills in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using a pretest posttest repeated measure randomized control group design. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39, 299-321. doi: 10.1007/s10803-008-0628-9
• Randolph, J. (2009). A guide to writing the dissertation literature review. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 14(13), 1-13.
• Roth, K. (2013). Adapt with apps. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 84(2), 4-6. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2013.757168
• Rowe, C. (1999). Do social stories benefit children with autism in mainstream primary schools? British Journal of Special Education, 16(1), 12-14.
• Rubin, H., & Rubin, I. (1994). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication, Inc.
• Sani-Bozkurt, S., Vuran, S., & Akbulut, Y. (2017). Design and use of interactive social stories for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Contemporary Educational Technology, 8(1), 1-25.
• Sansosti, F., Powell-Smith, K., & Kincaid, D. (2004). A research synthesis of social story interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19, 194-204. doi: 10.1177/10883576040190040101
• Scattone, D., Tingstrom, D., & Wilczynski, S. (2006). Increasing appropriate social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorders using social storiesTM . Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21(4), 211-222.
• Schneider, N., & Goldstein, H. (2009). Social stories improve the on-task behavior of children with language impairment. Journal of Early Intervention, 31, 250-265.
• Scruggs, T., & Mastropieri, M. (1998). Summarizing single-subject research: Issues and applications. Behavior Modification, 22, 221-242.
• Scruggs, T., Mastropieri, M., & Casto, G. (1987). The quantitative synthesis of single-subject research methodology and validation. Remedial and Special Education, 8(2), 24-33.
• Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education & the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Shane, H., Laubscher, E., Scholsser, R., Flynn, S., & Abramson, J. (2012). Applying technology to visually support language and communication in individuals with autism spectrum. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 42(6), 1228-1235.
• Sigman, M., & McGovern, C. (2005). Improvement in cognitive and language skills from preschool to adolescence in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(1), 15-23.
• Simmons, K. (2014). Apps for communication and video modeling for middle school students with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 41(3), 79-82.
• Smith, C. (2001). Using social stories to enhance behavior in children with autistic spectrum difficulties. Educational Psychology in Practice, 17(4), 338-345. doi: 10.1080/02667360120096688
• Southall, C., & Campbell, J. (2015). What does research say about social perspective-taking Interventions for students with HFASD? Exceptional Children, 8(2), 194-208. doi: 10.1177/0014402914551740
• Test, D., Richter, S., Knight, V., & Spooner, F. (2011). A comprehensive review and meta-analysis of the social stories literature. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 26, 49-62. doi: 10.1177/1088357609351573
• Tomasello, M. (2008). Origins of human communication. UK: MIT Press.
• Trevarthen, C., Aitken, K., Papudi, D., & Roberts, J. (1996). Children with autism: Diagnosis and intervention to meeting their needs. UK: Jessica Kingsley.
• What Works Clearinghouse [WWC]. (2013). Early childhood education interventions for children with disabilities: Social skills training. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_socialskills_020513.pdf
• Williams, C., & Wright, B. (2004). How to live with Asperger’s syndrome: Practical strategies for parents and professionals. UK: Jessica Kingsley.