Design and Use of Interactive Social Stories for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract

The current study aimed to design technology-supported interactive social stories to teach social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A design-based research was implemented with children with ASD along with the participation of their mothers, teachers, peers and field experts. An iterative remediation process was followed through the feedback of participants. The data collection process was further supported through researcher notes, interviews, video-recorded observations and log files. Three cycles of remediation were employed to improve the interactive materials, which lead them to be perceived as pleasant, interesting, engaging and user-friendly. It was observed that children gained useful non-target skills as well as the target behaviors. Interactive stories were particularly helpful in raising satisfaction as they provided children with the opportunity to make their own learning decisions.