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Getting a read on autism
School of Health Professions students are engaged in valuable research in a variety of areas. These stories represent the efforts of students from the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science.
Just Ask! | Getting a read on autism | The stronger side | Special teams
Sharing a book with a child can be a wonderful bonding tool. Some SHP occupational therapy students have found it might also be a key to unlocking some of the mysteries of communication for children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In their research, Laura Franken and Angie McFarland found that by using “social stories,” short stories written in an individualized format to highlight a skill or concept, their study participant was able to talk easier to peers, at home and increased his social skills.
Children with ASD can have communication problems, ritualistic behaviors and inappropriate social interaction, including problems interacting with peers. These children may exhibit socially inappropriate behavior, poor interpretation of social cues and difficulty using nonverbal behaviors.
With considerable evidence supporting the effectiveness of social stories in decreasing negative or disruptive behaviors, Franken and McFarland decided to try it with autism. They recruited a research subject who had a clinical diagnosis of ASD and had some record of social skills deficits. For five weeks, including six sessions in which a story focusing on appropriate conversation and interaction skills was used as “intervention,” they worked with the child. After the interventions, they did follow-up observations.
The results found a moderately significant increase in appropriate peer interaction from the baseline interviews through follow-up. The child also increased “self talk” and the parents reported more spontaneous communication.
McFarland says the intervention works because it targets specific behaviors. “The whole story is written in first person, it is about the child, and it gives concrete examples of how the child can ask a friend to play or keep a conversation going appropriately,” she says. “It is also very effective because it is simple to create and can be used by therapists, teachers and parents to consistently work on improving a skill.”
McFarland and Franken are encouraged by their results as they add to the research into treatment of autism. They hope to see a larger and longer study conducted in the future. “It is one thing to see results in a research article, but the results are more applicable when you can see the changes taking place, even if they are small changes,” McFarland says.