A Preliminary Investigation into Teaching Adolescents with Autism to Use Apps to Solve Problems

Technology offers exciting possibilities for instruction with learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and limited research has evaluated the use of web-based applications (apps) as learning tools for this population. We taught two adolescents with ASD to use map, weather, and clock apps to answer questions about distance, temperature, and time on a worksheet (e.g., “What time is it in Cairo?”). The cities in these questions always varied to ensure the answers were always unknown. Training occurred for one app at a time in the manner of a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Training steps were progressively introduced to evaluate the components necessary for app use. Gavin progressed quickly through training with the first app and then demonstrated generalization across novel questions (i.e., with different cities), apps, and response modalities (i.e., answering vocally). Intervention was staggered across participants consistent with a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design. Phoebe required more intensive training and eventually demonstrated generalization across novel questions. We discuss the implications of expanding technology-based problem-solving skills and targeting more apps.技术为自闭症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD）学习者的教学提供了极具潜力的应用场景，但目前针对该群体将基于网页的应用程序（apps）作为学习工具的相关研究仍较为匮乏。我们招募了两名自闭症谱系障碍青少年作为被试，教导其使用地图、天气及时钟类应用程序，以完成学习单中关于距离、气温与时间的问答任务，例如"开罗当前时间为几点？"。所有问题中的城市均随机调整，以确保被试无法通过预设答案完成作答。研究采用跨行为多基线设计，每次仅针对一款应用程序开展训练。训练步骤循序渐进，以拆解并验证使用该应用程序所需的核心技能模块。被试加文（Gavin）在首款应用程序的训练中进展迅速，并随后展现出对新型问答场景（即更换城市后的题目）、不同应用程序以及应答方式（即口头作答）的泛化能力。研究采用非同步多基线设计，两名被试的干预时序相互错开。被试菲比（Phoebe）则需要更为强化的训练，最终也展现出对新型问答场景的泛化能力。我们讨论了拓展基于技术的问题解决技能训练范畴，并覆盖更多应用程序的研究启示与实践价值。