Increasing social engagement in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder using collaborative technologies in the school environment

TLDR

The study evaluated a school‑based collaborative‑technology intervention combined with CBT to teach social collaboration and conversation skills and increase social engagement in 22 children with high‑functioning autism spectrum disorder. The intervention used two computer programs—Join‑In for collaboration and No‑Problem for conversation—and assessed socio‑cognitive outcomes via concept perception, problem‑solving, Theory of Mind, and a dyadic drawing task. Post‑intervention, participants showed improved socio‑cognitive performance, generating more active social solutions and better understanding of collaboration and conversation, with modest gains in Theory of Mind, while gains in actual social engagement were variable.

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a school-based, collaborative technology intervention combined with cognitive behavioral therapy to teach the concepts of social collaboration and social conversation to children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (n = 22) as well as to enhance their actual social engagement behaviors (collaboration and social conversation) with peers. Two computer programs were included in the intervention: "Join-In" to teach collaboration and "No-Problem" to teach conversation. Assessment in the socio-cognitive area included concept perception measures, problem solving, Theory of Mind, and a dyadic drawing collaborative task to examine change in children's social engagement. Results demonstrated improvement in the socio-cognitive area with children providing more active social solutions to social problems and revealing more appropriate understanding of collaboration and social conversation after intervention, with some improvement in Theory of Mind. Improvement in actual social engagement was more scattered.