Technology-Enriched Social Story Intervention: Engaging Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Social Communication

Abstract

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