Effects of Social Stories on Increasing Social Interaction and Engagement of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Settings

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 53; no. 5; pp. 1915 - 1929
• Main Authors: Kwon, Eun Young, Cannon, Joanna E., Knight, Victoria F., Mercer, Sterett H., Guardino, Caroline
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-05-2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: American Sign Language; Analysis; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Behavior; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Children's stories; Classrooms; Communication; Deafness; Demographic aspects; Diagnosis; Disabled students; Education; General education; Hearing Loss; Humans; Inclusion; Influence; Interpersonal relations in children; Interpersonal Relationship; Intervention; Learner Engagement; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Peers; Persons With Hearing Impairments; Pervasive developmental disorders; Psychology; Public Health; Reading; Sign language; Social aspects; Social behavior; Social integration; Social Interaction; Social skills; Students; Teaching; Vocabulary; United States; Social stories; Hard of hearing; Inclusion; Socialization; Deaf; Autism spectrum disorder
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05430-4

d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may require specific approaches to promote social inclusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of reading social stories with American Sign Language vocabulary to students who are d/Dhh with ASD (d/Dhh-ASD) and their peers in inclusive settings, using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. To examine the effectiveness of the intervention, the frequency of four communicative social behaviors and the duration of social engagement with peers were recorded for each participant during lunchtime and recess. The results did not show an immediate effect across all participants. Implications for promoting social inclusion for students who are d/Dhh-ASD in general education classrooms are discussed.