Web-Based Social Stories and Games for Children with Autism

Children with (ASD) may respond well to web–based learning because computers can provide features such as repetition, visual stimuli and independent interactions that appeal to them. However, there has been limited testing of web-based learning especially outside of institutional settings. The study reported on in this paper involved the testing of open, web-based games and social stories for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The web-based learning was accessible by parents, teachers, health professionals and children in an institutional and home setting and consisted of four social stories and seven games housed in a website. Pre- and post-testing of the web-based learning took place over a three-month period with 10 children with ASD enrolled in a special-education center in North-Eastern Thailand. Testing was conducted using observation. Analysis involved descriptive statistics, parametric t-tests and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests. Results revealed improvement for all behaviors although not for all children. Implications include the need for future studies that rely on more participants and that focus on transferability of learned behaviors to real-life contexts. Future studies might also include longitudinal designs to determine sustainability of newly learned behaviors and the design of web-based environments that adapt to or are more specifically tailored to individual needs of children with ASD.