Gal Eynat, Lamash Liron, Bauminger-Zviely Nirit, Zancanaro Massimo, Weiss Patrice L Tamar
a University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
b Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2016;36(1):46-58. doi: 10.3109/01942638.2015.1040572. Epub 2015 Sep 30.
Children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD) have major difficulties in social communication skills, which may impact their performance and participation in everyday life. The goal of this study was to examine whether the StoryTable, an intervention paradigm based on a collaborative narrative, multitouch tabletop interface, enhanced social interaction for children with HFASD, and to determine whether the acquired abilities were transferred to behaviors during other tasks.
Fourteen boys with HFASD, aged 7-12 years, participated in a 3-week, 11-session intervention. Social interactions during two nonintervention tasks were videotaped at three points in time, one prior to the intervention (pre), a second immediately following the intervention (post) and a third three weeks after the intervention (follow-up). The video-recorded files were coded using the Friendship Observation Scale to ascertain the frequencies of positive and negative social interactions and collaborative play. Differences in these behaviors were tested for significance using nonparametric statistical tests.
There were significantly higher rates of positive social interactions and collaborative play, and lower rates of negative social interactions following the intervention suggesting generalization of the social skills learned during the intervention. Improvement was maintained when tested three weeks later.
These findings provide support for the use of collaborative technology-based interventions within educational settings to enhance social interaction of children with HFASD.
高功能自闭症谱系障碍（HFASD）儿童在社交沟通技能方面存在重大困难，这可能会影响他们在日常生活中的表现和参与度。本研究的目的是检验基于协作叙事、多点触控桌面界面的干预范式StoryTable是否能增强HFASD儿童的社交互动，并确定所获得的能力是否能在其他任务中转化为行为表现。
14名年龄在7至12岁的HFASD男孩参与了为期3周、共11节的干预。在两项非干预任务中的社交互动在三个时间点进行录像，一个是在干预前（预），第二个是在干预后立即进行（后），第三个是在干预后三周（随访）。使用友谊观察量表对录像文件进行编码，以确定积极和消极社交互动以及协作游戏的频率。使用非参数统计检验来检验这些行为的差异是否具有显著性。
干预后积极社交互动和协作游戏的发生率显著更高，消极社交互动的发生率更低，这表明在干预期间学到的社交技能得到了泛化。三周后进行测试时，改善情况得以维持。
这些发现为在教育环境中使用基于协作技术的干预措施以增强HFASD儿童的社交互动提供了支持。
