Apps to Teach Social Skills to Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of the Embedded Behaviour Change Procedures

Abstract

Social skill interventions have become increasingly popular in recent times, as well as the use of technology to deliver and aid interventions for the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population. Little research exists on the use of apps to teach social skills to individuals with ASD, in particular the behaviour change procedures that exist within apps. The current review examines the behaviour change procedures that exist within apps according to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board Task List, 5th Edition. A total of 15 apps were included within this review. Results indicate that a variety of behaviour change procedures exist within apps. However, the quality of apps and the number of behaviour change procedures vary across app developers.

Technologies in the education of children and teenagers with autism: evaluation and classification of apps by work areas

“…In general terms, the results obtained with this evaluation are encouraging, given the heterogeneity of the apps and the variety of different designs observed. Few apps have obtained an assessment of "not recommendable", since most apps were found in the "recommendable" group, with an average quality -as Hanna et al (2021) also found in their study -but with potential for improvement in terms of quality, design, pedagogic aspects and content aimed at children and adolescents with autism. Furthermore, these results are in agreement with the findings of Dattolo and Luccio (2017) and Lian and Sunar (2021), which show that the design and content could be improved, as they were not wholly adapted to the needs and characteristics of people with ASD.…”

“…However, in the apps specifically for children with autism, these tools were only found in a minority (written tutorials: 24.5%, n = 38; audio tutorials: 9.03%, n = 14). This lack was also noted by Cayton et al (2015) and Hanna et al (2021), the latter stating that contents need to be presented to families in a clear way in order for the orientation and guided use with family members with ASD to be successful.…”

“…These days, accessing apps is relatively simple, but selecting which best fit the user's characteristics and needs is not, particularly for families. As Xanthopoulou et al (2019) and Hanna et al (2021) point out, no guidance exists for the selection and use of apps. This study will therefore facilitate this selection, since despite specifying a great variety of apps, it clearly shows which areas each one addresses and their overall quality, helping to make searching simpler and more intuitive, and increasing the possibility of finding the required content quickly.…”

On the Evaluation of Engagement in Immersive Applications When Users Are on the Autism Spectrum

“…Notwithstanding the difficulty in predicting which particular intervention approach works best with which ASD individual [ 2 ], starting from Colby’s theoretical premises [ 11 ] and following the seminal study of Strickland and colleagues [ 12 ], in the last two decades literature surveys [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] have witnessed an ever-growing number of proposals for approaches falling in the “Technology-based Treatment” category, as denoted in 2009 by the National Autism Center [ 23 ]. The well-established literature regarding the efficacy of the visual modality for ASD people [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], with a recognized preference for visual stimuli transmitted through electronic screen media [ 25 ] (such as television screens, computer monitors, tablets, smartphones) and a natural propensity for video and video games [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]), has made Information and Communication Technology (ICT) a first-class option for the investigation of assistive technologies, cognitive rehabilitation tools, and education tools.…”

Remote PEERS® for preschoolers: A pilot parent-mediated social skills intervention for young children with social challenges over telehealth

“…The need for novel methods for social and emotional interventions became especially salient during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 42 ), building on already established need for a variety of systemic and access issues. Over the past decade, there have been several reviews examining technology and computer-assisted interventions to teach social skills ( 43 , 44 ). These studies reveal mostly positive results ( 45 , 46 ).…”