iPads for Teaching Graphic Symbols to People With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Individuals with low functioning autism spectrum disorders (LFASD) who demonstrate significant cognitive and communication needs benefit from using technology for learning graphic symbols for enhancing participation. This study investigated if an iPad application would increase identification of graphic symbols by children and adults with LFASD. Adults and children with LFASD used an application to learn 15 graphic symbols. Participants were able to focus for the duration of the activity and use the educational software for learning graphic symbols. By the end to the study, 50% of the participants in both groups recognized the meaning of more symbols after intervention. iPad use enabled control of the stimulus by reducing communication barriers, which increased participants' ability to learn symbols. Even participants with little ability to focus were able to complete the whole activity. Technology enabled learning of most of the symbols though the specially created application.

Use of mobile technology in the development of cognitive skills of high school students with special educational needs

“…In relation to the spelling level, before the intervention the students were at a low level, increasing two levels after using the iPad, reaching an intermediate level. Consequently, the findings are consistent with research reporting that cognitive skills, attention/concentration, and spelling improve after the use of iPad mobile technology in students with SEN (Hetzroni & Israel, 2019;Kagohara et al, 2012;Rello et al, 2014).…”

Tablet Devices in the Classroom: Their Instructional Role with Children on the Autism Spectrum

“…These findings suggested that tablet devices such as iPads hold promise for children with autism in terms of improving communication, developing social skills behaviors, and to motivate them to engage and participate. Similar studies with tablet devices targeting learners on the autism spectrum indicate that they may support the distinctive needs of these learners (Hetzroni & Israel, 2019;Mize et al, 2020;Muharib et al, 2019). The metaanalysis on academic effects conducted by Aspiranti et al's (2020) among ASD learners showed positive results.…”

“…Tablet devices (i.e., iPads) have opened the world of technology to the average classroom and have been instrumental in assisting some of the most challenged learners to read, talk, and connect. They have become more than just a novelty for many learners with ASD (Hetzroni & Israel, 2019; Muharib et al, 2019; Neely et al, 2013) by “altering the paradigm of traditional education and blurring the lines between assistive technology and instructional technology” (O’Malley et al, 2013, p. 2). They are “more normalizing and less stigmatizing” for individuals with a disability, and they are a “common somewhat a coveted consumer product” especially for children with special needs motivating them to use it without drawing attention to their disability (Lorah et al, 2013, p. 638).…”

“…Besides, tablet devices are more and more affordable, flexible, and a socially acceptable tool with features that have the potential to motivate learners with ASD to learn and to enhance their communication performance (Lorah et al, 2013; Mize et al, 2020). Existing studies have found positive outcomes on tasks including checking spelling (Kagohara et al, 2012); learning graphic symbols for enhancing participation (Hetzroni & Israel, 2019); and teaching functional skills (Goo et al, 2019), numeracy skills (Jowett et al, 2012), on-topic conversational responses (Sng et al, 2020) and oral reading fluency (Mize et al, 2020). Another example is Muharib et al’s (2019) study using GoTalk NowTM application for iPads with ASD learners with a history of challenging behavior.…”