An evaluation of the effectiveness of Comic Strip Conversations in promoting the inclusion of young people with autism spectrum disorder in secondary schools

Abstract

Objectives:Comic Strip Conversations (CSCs; ) can be used to improve the social skills of individuals on the autism spectrum as well as pupils with other learning and/or speech difficulties. This study aimed to evaluate this intervention to improve specific problematic target behaviours of eleven to fourteen year old pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to ascertain whether or not including a written (visual) action plan or a discussion about actions (auditory action plan) would have an impact and to find out whether more effective action plans matched participants’ visual and verbal skill profiles.Methods:A total of eight participants ranging from eleven to fourteen years of age received the intervention in school. Cognitive assessments were conducted to assess verbal and non-verbal functioning. A multiple baseline design across behaviours was implemented. Structured observations were conducted in order to determine whether or not the CSC intervention had an impact on target behaviours.Results:The percentage of data points exceeding the median (PEM) of the baseline phase and Tau-U analyses were calculated from the observational data. Combined with visual inspection of graphs, the intervention was found to be moderately to highly effective at reducing/improving target behaviours in seven out of eight participants.Conclusion:Although there was no general association between the type of action plan (visual or verbal) and outcome, the more successful action plans included highly specified, unambiguous target behaviours, realistic and implementable strategies/solutions, regular reviews of the CSC and a mode of presentation that matched the participants’ skill preferences.