Using an Apple iPad and Communication Application to Increase Communication in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

With the increase in the number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is imperative to determine productive interventions to enhance communication skills. Recent investigations regarding the use of speech generated devices (SGD), such as the Apple iPad, to communicate have been performed with mixed results (Flores, Musgrove, Renner, Hinton, Strozier, Franklin, & Hill, 2012). The researcher used a single subject design, incorporating multiple baselines across settings, for two preschool students diagnosed with ASD in a public preschool during snack time and center time. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of a SGD increased requesting skills in students with ASD and if the communication behavior transferred across settings. Both students demonstrated an increase in communication using the iPad across settings, however generalization from one setting to another for the same behavior (requesting a snack) were inconclusive. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords

• autism spectrum disorder
• iPad
• augmentative and alternative communication
• communication interventions
• requesting skills