In the current study, we examined the effects of an instructional package comprised of an autonomous pedagogical agent, automatic speech recognition, and constant time delay during the instruction of reading sight words aloud to young adults with autism spectrum disorder. We used a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the efficacy of intervention and conducted post-treatment probes to assess maintenance and generalization. Our findings suggest that all three participants acquired and maintained new sight words and demonstrated generalized responding.
AlcornA.PainH.RajendranG.SmithT.LemonO.Porayska-PomstaK.…BernardiniS. (2011). Social communication between virtual characters and children with autism. In BiswasG.BullS.KayJ.MitrovicA. (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in education: 15th International Conference (pp. 7–14). Berlin, Germany: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-21869-9_4
2.
ArgyleM.DeanJ. (1965). Eye-contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 28, 289–304. doi:10.2307/2786027
3.
BancroftW. J. (1995). Research in nonverbal communication and its relationship to pedagogy and suggestopedia. ERIC.
4.
Baron-CohenS.GolanO.AshwinE. (2009). Can emotion recognition be taught to children with autism spectrum conditions?Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 364, 3567–3574. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0191
5.
Beirne-SmithM.PattonJ. R.IttenbachR. (1994). Mental retardation. New York, NY: Merrill.
6.
BlissS. L.SkinnerC. H.AdamsR. (2006). Enhancing an English language learning fifth-grade student’s sight-word reading with a time-delay taped-words intervention. School Psychology Review, 35, 663–670.
7.
BosselerA.MassaroD. W. (2003). Development and evaluation of a computer-animated tutor for vocabulary and language learning in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 653–672. doi:10.1023/B:JADD.0000006002.82367.4f
8.
BriganceA. H. (1978). Inventory of early development. North Billerica, MA: Curriculum Associates.
9.
BrowderD. M.LalliJ. S. (1991). Review of research on sight word instruction. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 12, 203–228. doi:10.1016/0891-4222(91)90008-G
10.
BrowderD. M.XinY. P. (1998). A meta-analysis and review of sight word research and its implication for teaching functional reading to individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. Journal of Special Education, 32, 130–153. doi:10.1177/002246699803200301
11.
BrownD. J.StandenP. J.ProctorT.SterlandD. (2001). Advanced design methodologies for the production of virtual learning environments for use by people with learning disabilities. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10, 401–415. doi:10.1162/1054746011470253
12.
CarnineD. W. (1976). Effects of two teacher presentation rates on off-task behavior, answering correctly, and participation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 199–206. doi:10.1901/jaba.1976.9-199
13.
ChenS. S. A.Bernard-OpitzV. (1993). Comparison of personal and computer-assisted instruction for children with autism. Mental Retardation, 31, 368–376.
14.
ColemanM. B.HurleyK. J.CihakD. F. (2012). Comparing teacher-directed and computer-assisted constant time delay for teaching functional sight words to students with moderate intellectual disability. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 47, 280–292.
15.
Coleman-MartinM.HellerK. W.CihakD. F.IrvineK. L. (2005). Using computer-assisted instruction and the nonverbal reading approach to teach word identification. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20, 80–90. doi:10.1177/10883576050200020401
16.
DolchE. W. (1948). Problems in reading. Champaign, IL: The Garrard Press. doi:10.1037/h0053054
17.
GabigC. S. (2010). Phonological awareness and word recognition in reading by children with autism. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 31, 67–85. doi:10.1177/1525740108328410
18.
GastD. L.LedfordJ. R. (Eds.). (2014). Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. New York, NY: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203521892
19.
GuptaP.MacWhinneyB. (1997). Vocabulary acquisition and verbal short-term memory: Computational and neural bases. Brain Language, 59, 267–333. doi:10.1006/brln.1997.1819
20.
HallE. T. (1955). The anthropology of manners. Scientific American, 192, 84–91.
21.
Hanely-MaxwellC.WilcoxB.HealL. (1982). A comparison of vocabulary learning by moderately retarded students under direct instruction and incidental presentation. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 17, 214–221.
22.
HawkinsJ.SkinnerC. H.OliverR. (2005). The effects of task demands and additive interspersal ratios on fifth-grade students’ mathematics accuracy. School Psychology Review, 34, 543–555.
23.
HeimannM.NelsonK. E.TjusT.GillbergC. (1995). Increasing reading and communication skills in children with autism through an interactive multimedia computer program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25, 459–480. doi:10.1007/bf02178294
24.
HetzroniO. E.ShalemU. (2005). From logos to orthographic symbols: A multilevel fading computer program for teaching nonverbal children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20, 201–212. doi:10.1177/10883576050200040201
25.
HigginsE. L.RaskindM. H. (1999). Speaking to read: The effects of continuous vs. discrete speech recognition systems on the reading and spelling of children with learning disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 15, 19–30.
26.
KnightV.McKissickB. R.SaundersA. (2013). A review of technology-based interventions to teach academic skills to students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2628–2648. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1814-y
27.
MassaroD. W.BosselerA. (2006). Read my lips the importance of the face in a computer-animated tutor for vocabulary learning by children with autism. Autism, 10, 495–510. doi:10.1177/1362361306066599
28.
McCurdyM.SkinnerC. H.GranthamK.WatsonT. S.HindmanP. M. (2001). Increasing on-task behavior in an elementary student during mathematics seat-work by interspersing additional brief problems. School Psychology Review, 30, 23–32.
29.
MechlingL. C.GastD. L.KrupaK. (2007). Impact of SMART Board technology: An investigation of sight word reading and observational learning. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1869–1882. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-0361-9
30.
MilneM.LuerssenM. H.LewisT. W.LeibbrandtR. E.PowersD. M. (2010). Development of a virtual agent based social tutor for children with autism spectrum disorders. Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, 1555–1563. doi:10.1109/ijcnn.2010.5596584
31.
MirendaP. (2003). Toward functional augmentative and alternative communication for students with autism: Manual signs, graphic symbols, and voice output communication aids. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34, 203–216. doi: 110.1044/0161-1461(2003/017).
32.
MooreD. J. (1998). Computers and people with autism/Asperger Syndrome. Communication, Autumn, 20–21
33.
MooreM.CalvertS. (2000). Brief report: Vocabulary acquisition for children with autism: Teacher or computer instruction. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 359–362. doi:10.1023/A:1005535602064
34.
MowerE.BlackM. P.FloresE.WilliamsM.NarayananS. (2011). Rachel: Design of an emotionally targeted interactive agent for children with autism. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo, 1–6. doi:10.1109/icme.2011.6011990
35.
National Research Council. 2001. Educating children with autism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/10017
36.
NeumanS. B.CoppleC.BredekampS. (2000). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. The Reading Teacher, 52, 193–216.
37.
NistL.JosephL. M. (2008). Effectiveness and efficiency of flashcard drill instructional methods on urban first-graders’ word recognition, acquisition, maintenance, and generalization. School Psychology Review, 37, 294–308.
38.
PenningtonR. C. (2010). Computer-assisted instruction for teaching academic skills to students with autism spectrum disorders: A review of literature. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 25, 239–248. doi:10.1177/1088357610378291
39.
PutnamC.ChongL. (2008). Software and technologies designed for people with autism: What do users want?Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, 3–10. doi:10.1145/1414471.1414475
40.
RajendranG.MitchellP. (2006). Text chat as a tool for referential questioning in Asperger syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 102–112. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2006/008)
41.
RaskindM. H.HigginsE. L. (1999). Speaking to read: The effects of speech recognition technology on the reading and spelling performance of children with learning disabilities. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 251–281. doi:10.1007/s11881-999-0026-9
42.
SchmidtC.SchmidtM. (2008). Three-dimensional virtual learning environments for mediating social skills acquisition among individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, 85–88. doi:10.1145/1463689.1463725
43.
SilverM.OakesP. (2001). Evaluation of a new computer intervention to teach people with autism or Asperger syndrome to recognize and predict emotions in others. Autism, 5, 299–316. doi:10.1177/1362361301005003007
44.
SkinnerC. H. (2008). Theoretical and applied implications of precisely measuring learning rates. School Psychology Review, 37, 309–315.
45.
SpectorJ. E. (2011). Sight word instruction for students with autism: An evaluation of the evidence base. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1411–1422. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1165-x
46.
StahlS. A.McKennaM. C.PagnuccoJ. R. (1994). The effects of whole-language instruction: An update and a reappraisal. Educational Psychologist, 29, 175–185. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep2904_1
47.
StokesT. F.BaerD. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization 1. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367. doi:10.1901/jaba.1977.10-349
48.
TartaroA.CassellJ. (2006). Authorable virtual peers for autism spectrum disorders. Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 642–644. doi:10.1145/1240866.1240881
49.
TartaroA.CassellJ. (2008). Playing with virtual peers: Bootstrapping contingent discourse in children with autism. Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, 2, 382–389.
50.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2017). Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2017 national education technology plan update. Retrieved fromhttps://tech.ed.gov/netp/
51.
VaccaJ. S. (2007). Autistic children can be taught to read. International Journal of Special Education, 22, 54–61.
52.
VasquezE.IIINagendranA.WelchG. F.MarinoM. T.HughesD. E.KochA.DelisioL. (2015). Virtual learning environments for students with disabilities: A review and analysis of the empirical literature and two case studies. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 34, 26. doi:10.1177/875687051503400306
53.
WalkerG. (2008). Constant and progressive time delay procedures for teaching children with autism: A literature review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 261–275. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-0390-4
54.
WelchK. C.LahiriU.WarrenZ.SarkarN. (2010). An approach to the design of socially acceptable robots for children with autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Social Robotics, 2, 391–403. doi:10.1007/s12369-010-0063-x
55.
WhalonK.OtaibaS.DelanoM. (2008). Evidenced-based reading instruction for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 24, 3–16. doi:10.1177/1088357608328515
56.
WhitcombS. A.BassJ. D.LuiselliJ. K. (2011). Effects of a computer-based early reading program (Headsprout®) on word list and text reading skills in a student with autism. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 23, 491–499. doi:10.1007/s10882-011-9240-6
57.
WilsonR.MajsterekD.SimmonsD. (1996). The effects of computer-assisted versus teacher-directed instruction on the multiplication performance of elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 29, 382–390. doi:10.1177/002221949602900406
58.
WindingstadS.SkinnerC. H.RowlandE.CardinE.FearringtonJ. (2009). Extending research on a class-wide, math fluency building intervention: Applying taped-problems in a second-grade classroom. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 25, 364–381. doi:10.1080/15377900903175861
59.
WolfM. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214. doi:10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203
60.
YawJ. S.SkinnerC. H.ParkhurstJ.TaylorC. M.BooherJ.ChambersK. (2011). Extending research on a computer-based sight-word reading intervention to a student with autism. Journal of Behavioral Education, 20, 44–54. doi:10.1007/s10864-010-9118-1
