Augmented Reality in Auditory-visual Conditional Discrimination Training for Children with Autism

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taught conditional discriminations often during early intervention. Auditory-visual conditional discrimination (AVCD) training requires the presentation of multiple antecedent stimuli, and the order of stimulus presentation varies in the literature. This series of studies replicated previous literature on stimulus-presentation order in AVCD training. In Experiment 1, we compared sample-first and comparisons-first arrangements in 8 comparisons with 4 participants with ASD. For 3 participants, both presentations were efficacious. For 1 participant, the sample-first order was more likely to be efficacious. In Experiment 2, we added a sample-first-with-repetition arrangement and conducted 6 comparisons with 5 participants with ASD. Across comparisons, all 3 presentations were efficacious. Considerations for teaching AVCD to children with ASD and suggestions for further evaluation and examination of efficacy and efficiency are discussed.

Editorial: Introduction to Special Section on Evidence-Based Practices for Persons With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Introduction: This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the direct instruction method, presented through augmented reality, in teaching occupations to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Method: The study employed a multiple probe design across participants, a single-subject research model. The participants consisted of three individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Findings: The results showed that all three participants successfully acquired the target behaviors. It was observed that the participants maintained the learned behaviors for 2, 3, and 4 weeks after instruction and were able to demonstrate these behaviors even when different individuals provided the instructions. To assess the social validity of the study, the teachers of the participants provided positive feedback regarding the target behaviors and the direct instruction method using augmented reality. Discussion: The use of technology has increasingly expanded in various fields, including special education. One of the technological applications used in special education is augmented reality. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the direct instruction method using augmented reality is effective in teaching occupations to individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Recommendations: This research could be conducted with different groups of disabilities. The social validity data were obtained from the participants’ teachers; future studies could gather insights directly from the participants and their parents. This study specifically examined the effectiveness of augmented reality applications. Future research could explore the effectiveness and efficiency of using augmented reality in conjunction with picture cards for teaching different skills. Lastly, additional findings could be generated by incorporating augmented reality applications in teaching various skills.

10 Tips For Testing Hearing in Children With Autism

Augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a promising educational tool for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), offering interactive and engaging learning experiences. While AR interventions have been widely explored in educational contexts, their specific impact on learning outcomes in individuals with ASD remains unclear. This systematic review aimed to explore preliminary indications of the efficacy of augmented reality (AR)-based interventions in improving cognitive and academic skills in children, adolescents, and adults with ASD. A comprehensive literature search identified studies published between 2014 and 2024 that assessed AR interventions targeting learning outcomes in individuals with ASD. A total of 12 studies (9 were single-subject studies), comprising 123 participants, met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that AR interventions contributed to improvements in multiple learning domains, including language acquisition, reading comprehension, mathematics, science education, executive functioning, and attention. AR-based applications were particularly effective in enhancing engagement, motivation, and interactive learning, addressing challenges commonly faced by individuals with ASD. Findings suggest that AR can be a valuable tool for improving learning outcomes in individuals with ASD, and it could contribute to the inclusion and functional development of students with special needs.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Approximately one in 68 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to official estimates (CDC 2016). Although students with ASD have no typical learning profile, many have trouble organizing information, connecting past and present experiences/events, linking concepts, determining relevant from extraneous information, and planning (Tsatsanis and Powell 2014), which can negatively affect learning. The number of public school students receiving services for an ASD continues to rise with most of these students spending at least half of their day in general education classrooms (U.S. Department of Education 2014), including science classrooms. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013; see box, p. 41) call for all learners to receive access to quality science instruction, including students with disabilities such as ASD. Access to science content may be particularly relevant for learners with ASD. Although they are underrepresented in colleges and universities, those who enroll tend to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Wei, Lenz, and Blackorby 2013). may be related to strengths associated with ASD, including attention to details and ability to recognize and repeat patterns (Baron-Cohen et al. 2009). Fortunately, the research base of supports and strategies shown to enhance the learning of students with ASD continues to grow with some recent literature reviews emphasizing practices used in secondary classroom settings (e.g., Fleury et al. 2014). Several online resources can help teachers who have students with ASD in the classroom (see On the web). As examples, this article addresses evidence-based practices that can be embedded in a Chemistry I lesson. Ready, Set ... Reactions! lesson, appropriate for all students, addresses the outcomes of chemical reactions based on the chemical properties of the elements and compounds (Figure 1, p. 38). Students are given diagrams (see On the web) and are asked to write a description explaining how the figures in the diagrams are combining and separating and to identify and categorize the chemical reaction as one of six types (redox, acid-base, synthesis, combustion, single replacement, or double replacement). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Supporting learners with ASD To enhance the lesson for students with ASD, we included four strategies that capitalize on their strengths: (1) priming, (2) peer supports, (3) schedules, and (4) visual supports. Priming. Priming involves preparing the student for a lesson prior to instruction in a relaxed context (Koegel et al. 2003). These learning activities are generally quick (approximately 10 minutes) and limit the need for additional prompting or modifications from an adult during class time. For this lesson, we decided to pre-teach how to determine whether a chemical reaction occurred using a model-lead-test instructional sequence. five- to 10-minute priming activity for the learner with ASD can be conducted by the science or special education teacher, a paraprofessional, or a peer before the Exploration portion of the 5E chemistry lesson. In this activity, the student with ASD is shown cards demonstrating a chemical reaction and cards that fail to demonstrate a chemical reaction (see On the web). The adult/peer guides the student by stating whether a picture card represents a chemical reaction and why (i.e., This is a chemical reaction because....). The sequence ends with showing a picture card and having the student with ASD independently explain whether a chemical reaction occurred (i.e., This is not a chemical reaction because....) with appropriate feedback from the adult/peer. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] Peer supports. Throughout this lesson, students with ASD are paired with a typically developing peer. …

Few studies have evaluated the use of assessment to identify the most efficient instructional practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This is problematic as these individuals often have difficulty acquiring skills, and the procedures that may be efficient with one individual may not be for others. The experimenters conducted instructional assessments to identify the most efficient prompt type (model, partial physical, full physical) and prompt-fading procedure (progressive delay, most-to-least, least-to-most) for teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Each assessment was conducted at least twice, and a final generality test combined the most and the least efficient prompt type and prompt-fading procedure for teaching novel auditory-visual conditional discriminations. The results demonstrated learner-specific outcomes for the prompt type assessment, whereas the least-to-most prompt fading procedure was most efficient for all participants.

Come Play With Me

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by a reduced ability to appropriately express social greetings. Studies have indicated that individuals with ASD might not recognize the crucial nonverbal cues that usually aid social interaction. Social reciprocity depends on the ability to empathize with others, to be aware of emotional and interpersonal cues, and to respond appropriately; it requires joint attention and nonverbal social skills. Fortunately, there is evidence-based research which shows that augmented reality (AR) attracts the attention of children with ASD and allows them to focus on social cues. AR has also been proved effective for teaching social skills. However, there is a lack of appropriate instructional scaffolds in AR applications to help students organize learning materials. Therefore, in this study, we use AR combined with concept map (CM) strategy as a training tool to focus on the standard nonverbal social cues to teach children with ASD how to appropriately reciprocate when they greet others. The learner can integrate the AR with CM strategy to visually conceptualize the social scenarios in a tabletop role-play training platform. Single-subject research with a multiple-baselines across-subject design was used in this study. Our results showed substantial increases in the children’s target responses during the intervention phases compared with the baseline phases. Generalization probes were administered during baseline (4–8 sessions for 0.5–1 month), intervention (10 sessions for 1.2 months), and maintenance phases (4–8 sessions for 0.5–1 month) to assess the generalization and maintenance of learned skills. The three-phase test data suggest that the AR with CM intervention was moderately effective in teaching the target greeting responses to children with ASD. The practical and developmental implications of the findings are discussed.

This paper presents a systematic review of relevant primary studies on the use of augmented reality (AR) to improve various skills of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from years 2005 to 2018 inclusive in eight bibliographic databases. This systematic review attempts to address eleven specific research questions related to the learing skills, participants, AR technology, research design, data collection methods, settings, evaluation parameters, intervention outcomes, generalization, and maintenance. The social communication skill was the highly targeted skill, and individuals with ASD were part of all the studies. Computer, smartphone, and smartglass are more frequently used technologies. The commonly used research design was pre-test and post-test. Almost all the studies used observation as a data collection method, and classroom environment or controlled research environment were used as a setting of evaluation. Most of the evaluation parameters were human-assisted. The results of the studies show that AR benefited children with ASD in learning skills. The generalization test was conducted in one study only, but the results were not reported. The results of maintenance tests conducted in five studies during a short-term period following the withdrawal of intervention were positive. Although the effect of using AR towards the learning of individuals was positive, given the wide variety of skills targeted in the studies, and the heterogeneity of the participants, a summative conclusion regarding the effectiveness of AR for teaching or learning of skills related to ASD based on the existing literature is not possible. The review also proposes the research taxonomy for ASD. Future research addressing the effectiveness of AR among more participants, different technologies supporting AR for the intervention, generalization, and maintenance of learning skills, and the evaluation in the inslusive classroom environment and other settings is warranted.

Practice recommendations related to using discrete trial teaching (DTT) to teach receptive labels (i.e., auditory–visual conditional discriminations) for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have included the use of counterbalancing. Counterbalancing involves two major components: (a) ensuring that each stimulus in the set is targeted an equal number of times within each trial block and (b) rotating the stimuli in the array in a manner that evenly distributes the stimuli within the array in each position across a trial block. The purpose of the present study was to compare three varying approaches to the order and number of presentations of target stimuli (i.e., predetermined, constrained, and unconstrained) during a receptive language task using an adapted alternating treatment design with three individuals diagnosed with ASD. The results indicated that, for the three participants, the unconstrained condition was the most efficacious, followed by the constrained condition, and the predetermined condition was the least efficacious with respect to average sessions to reach the mastery criterion. The implications of the results with respect to best practices using DTT to teach receptive language are discussed.

For people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), using technological tools, such as augmented reality (AR) and serious games remain a new and unexplored option. To attract people with ASD who have communicative, social, emotional and attention deficit disorders to behavioral treatments, an attractive environment is needed that ensures continuity during treatment. The aim of the current work is to efficiently examine systematic reviews and relevant primary studies on ASD solutions from 2015 to 2020, particularly those using the traditional Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), the application of augmented reality and those that propose serious games, thereby providing an overview of existing evidence and to identify strategies for future research. Five databases were searched for keywords that may be included within the broad Autism Spectrum Disorder ‘ASD’ umbrella term, alongside ‘augmented reality’, ‘serious games’ and ‘PECS’. We screened 1799 titles and abstracts, read, and retained 12 reviews and 43 studies. The studies scrutinized in our systematic review were examined to answer four primary and four sub-research questions, which we formulated to better understand general trends in the use of approaches for attracting people with ASD to behavioral therapies. Additionally, our systematic review also presents ongoing issues in this area of research and suggests promising future research directions. Our review is useful to researchers in this field as it facilitates the comparison of existing studies with work currently being conducted, based on the availability of a wide range of studies in three different areas (AR, SG and PECS).

Background and aims The academic development of children with autism spectrum disorders is important to investigate as it can provide opportunities for higher education, independent living, and successful employment in adulthood. Although educational data find that children with autism spectrum disorders can achieve similar levels of academic achievement in inclusive settings as neurotypical children, little is known about how children with diverse language experiences with autism spectrum disorders develop academically. Research on neurotypical, bilingual children finds that although many may lag behind their monolingual peers on measures of academic achievement, these gaps can be minimized with bilingual education programs. Within clinical practice, concerns are still raised about bilingual exposure in children with autism spectrum disorders, with assumptions and recommendations made to limit the language of exposure to minimize risks to development. To improve the evidence-base on bilingual experience in children with autism spectrum disorders, the present study will examine whether basic academic skills (i.e., word reading, numerical operations, spelling) vary as a function of language experience (i.e., monolingual vs. bilingual). Methods The data presented in this study were based on medical records of children with autism spectrum disorders who visited a clinic in a large, urban city in the United States. Records were included for this study if children had information/data on language status, nonverbal cognition, and standardized scores for reading, math, and spelling on a standardized academic achievement test. The final sample included children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual language experience ( n = 18) or bilingual language experience ( n = 13). Results Repeated measures analysis of variance analyses found that children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual experience had higher scores on word reading skills when compared to children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience. However, a different pattern was found for numerical operations, with children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience outperforming children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual experience. No differences were found between groups on spelling skills. Conclusions The preliminary findings suggest that bilingual language experience may be related to early literacy and math skills in children with autism spectrum disorders. It may be that word reading skills are slower to develop among children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience due to the development of two linguistic profiles. Math skills may be enhanced in children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience through the mediation of other cognitive skills (e.g., executive functioning). Implications: This preliminary study demonstrates that bilingual experience does not negatively affect the development of academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders. Further exploration of how bilingual experience may benefit children with autism spectrum disorders is needed.

Augmented reality (AR) technology has shown promise in facilitating vocabulary learning for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study employed a single-subject research design with a withdrawal approach to investigate the effectiveness of an AR mobile application, in enhancing vocabulary learning performance among children with ASD. Nine participants aged 8–12 years diagnosed with mild ASD were recruited from a local special needs center. The study consisted of four phases: familiarization, baseline, intervention, and maintenance. Quantitative measures included correct response rates, percentage of data exceeding the median (PEM), and response time, complemented by qualitative behavioral observations. Results revealed substantial individual variability, with some participants exhibiting significant improvements in vocabulary learning performance during the intervention and maintenance phases, as evidenced by increased correct responses and high PEM values. Other participants showed more moderate improvements or minimal changes. Response time data indicated minimal differences, except for one participant who demonstrated remarkably faster response time post-intervention. Behavioral observations highlighted factors influencing engagement and learning, such as sustaining attention, personalization through interest-based content, and the potential benefits of interacting with 3D models. These findings suggest that while AR interventions can effectively support vocabulary learning for children with ASD, their effectiveness may depend on tailoring strategies to individual learner characteristics and needs within this heterogeneous population.

ABSTRACTThe use of serious games (SGs) to provide intervention for various skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in the recent years. However, the potential of these games has not been utilized to provide learning of vocabulary to children with ASD. In designing games for children with ASD, there is a need to consider components specifically from the perspectives of ASD and the generic components that can support from the theoretical, content, and game design aspects. In the absence of any existing framework to design games for children with ASD, this article first introduces a framework named serious game design framework (SGDF), constructed to provide support throughout the design process. This framework was constructed based on the extensive review of the literature on ASD and existing SGDFs. The article then focuses on the design and development of a SG prototype based on SGDF. An experimental evaluation prototype was conducted to examine the effectiveness using the withdrawal design of single-subject research design (SSRD) in improving the receptive identification of vocabulary items among children with autism before and after using the prototype. The receptive identification of vocabulary items is measured in terms of the number of correct responses given and the number of attempts made to identify the correct response. The pre- and post-evaluations of the SG prototype show that learning of vocabulary items among children with ASD improved after using the game and they retained items at the end of weeks 1 and 2 following the withdrawal of intervention.