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| Topics in Autism: Social Strategies |
| Wednesday, November 15, 2017 |
| 2:00 PM–3:50 PM |
| Forum EF, Niveau 1 |
| Area: AUT |
| Keyword(s): Social Strategies |
| Chair: Christine L. Cole (Lehigh University) |
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| Increasing Social Conversation Skills of Adolescents With Autism Using Peer-Mediated Intervention Strategies |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| CHRISTINE L. COLE (Lehigh University), Linda Bambara (Lehigh University) |
| Abstract: Social-communication difficulties of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can significantly interfere with their participation in high school activities, where conversation is the primary mode of social interaction. Interventions are needed not only to address these deficits, but also to facilitate social interactions with peers, yet few high school social-communication interventions exist. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of a peer-mediated intervention implemented during lunch on the conversational skills of four high school students with ASD. The intervention consisted of training peers the three strategies to promote initiations, maintain conversations, and promote follow-up questions. In addition, focus students were taught how to use visual supports to initiate and extend topics. Peers implemented the intervention during lunch without direct adult involvement and items on cue cards were faded. In addition, probes assessing generalization of conversational gains across a novel trained peer, from another peer network and a novel untrained peer were collected following post-training. Results (10-m observational samples) indicated that focus students increased initiations and follow-up questions following the sequential introduction of each training component (Figure 1). Additional data revealed total number of conversational acts (Figure 2) and assertive acts (Fig. 3) increased for all participants and peers, suggesting that the once passive conversationalists were becoming more assertive. Additionally, probes revealed some generalization of learned skills to novel peers. Social validity measures involving the focus students, peers, and educators naive to the intervention attested to intervention acceptability and outcome quality. This study represents a comprehensive extension of peer-mediation to high school settings. |
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| Pokémon Go! and Other Internet-Based Games: The New Interface of Socialization for Individuals With Disabilities |
| Domain: Theory |
| JENNIFER GALLUP (Idaho State University), Onur Kocaoz (University of Aksaray), Joel Bocanegra (Idaho State University), Caralee Page (Idaho State University) |
| Abstract: Socialization and play are essential component of any childs life. Individuals with disabilities, particularly individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience persistent deficits in socialization, communication, friendships, and community integration (Alpern & Zager, 2007; Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Burtenshaw, & Hobson, 2007; Durkin, Boyle, Hunter, & Conti-Ramsden, 2013). These challenges remain problematic throughout life, and directly affect postsecondary transitions and outcomes, specifically college participation, independent living, and employment (Shattuck 2013). Innovations with technology and digital communication may offer solutions to increase postsecondary education successes for young adults with ASD by creating and reinforcing opportunities for positive social interactions. One such method that has generated much attention are massively multiplayer online role-playing games and related augmentative virtual games such as Pokmon Go. A small but significant body of research has begun to emerge, documenting the benefits of gaming utilizing a complex, diverse, realistic, and social medium (Gallup, et al., 2016; Granic, Lobel, Rutger, & Engels, 2014). Further, researchers have suggested that video games may foster real-world psychosocial benefits (Granic et al., 2014), and support friendships and social interactions within the community environment (Gallup et al., 2016). An interesting phenomena of Pokmon Go is that the game has bridged the gap between virtual and physical environment. Additionally, results indicate that individuals with ASD and increased their social interactions and desire to interact within the community. |
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| CANCELED: Effectiveness of Social Stories in Teaching How to Avoid Abduction by Strangers to Children With Autism |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| ONUR KURT (Anadolu University), Metehan Kutlu (Hakkari University) |
| Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of social stories in teaching how to avoid abduction by strangers to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). A multiple probe design across participants was used in the study. The study was conducted with the participation of three boys with autism ages 4 to11. The findings of the study showed that social stories were effective on promoting acquisition for all students with ASD. All the students who participated in the study were able to learn the target skill, maintain their learning, and generalize to non-teaching conditions. Social validity of the study was investigated by asking the participants and their parents to rate their satisfaction of the intervention. Social validity findings revealed that the opinions of the parents and participants were positive overall. Based upon the findings, implications and recommendations of the study will be discussed with the audiences. |
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| Developing Soft-Skills and Social Skills Using Virtual Environments: Findings From Nine Transition-Aged Youth With Autism |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| JENNIFER GALLUP (Idaho State University) |
| Abstract: Transition-aged youth with autism are chronically underrepresented in post-secondary settings, which can be directly correlated with a persistent deficit in soft-skills. Virtual environments (VE) specifically, MMORPGs are highly social communities where several individuals interact in an constantly evolving environment (Gee, 2006; Yee, 2006). Social and pro-social activities are an intrinsic part of the gaming experience, where gamers rapidly learn social and soft-skills that could generalize to real world settings (Alawami & Heng-Yu Ku, 2016; Vitelli, 2014). Additionally, VE are multifarious and require sophisticated forms of thinking that can include: (a) understanding complex systems, (b) creating expression with digital tools, and (c) developing social networks for communication (Gee, 2004; Gallup et al., 2016). In the United States, it is estimated that 99% of boys and 94% of girls play video-games at least one hour a day, with an average of 21 hours a week (Vitelli, 2014). The stereotypical gamer has been thought of as a person who uses video games to avoid social contact; however today, over 80 percent of gamers are social (Vitelli, 2014). This presentation includes a presentation of data, discussions on using MMROPGs and the need for further exploration of VE specific to transition-aged youth with ASD. |
| Keyword(s): Social Strategies |
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