Applied the augmented reality technology combined with social stories strategies and computational thinking games to improve the social skills of children with ASD

ABSTRACTAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves social skills deficits, hindering effective communication and meaningful relationships. Prior research indicates that Augmented Reality (AR) games appeal to children with ASD for learning social skills but lack a structured framework and clear instructions for grasping social concepts. Therefore, this research aims to develop AR game content with a social story context and computational thinking specifically tailored for specific social situations. The goal is to assist children with ASD in mastering the developmental context and social structure of complex social situations through sequential and staged game activities. This helps children with ASD develop social skills and reciprocal behaviors. Four high-functioning children with ASD, aged 6 -9, participated in the experiment. Their behavioral performance during game interactions, learning, and social task accomplishments was observed using a multiple-baseline design across subjects. After three stages of testing and assessments, the results showed that incorporating AR effectively piqued the interest of children with ASD in learning. In particular, combining social stories and computational thinking game elements as instructional strategies helped children with ASD understand social tasks and contextual sequences. These intervention strategies also indirectly manifested in changes in their behavioral abilities and improvements in social reciprocity skills.KEYWORDS: Augmented realityautismcomputational thinkingsocial storiessocial reciprocity AcknowledgmentsWe sincerely thank all the participants, therapists, and family members for their valuable contributions to this study, as well as the Autism & Developmental Research Center in Taiwan. We are also grateful to all the authors and participants for agreeing to publish and share this study in an international journal with the common aim of benefiting individuals with autism and educators worldwide.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingWe extend our appreciation to the National Science and Technology Council (Taiwan) for their funding support under project Nos. NSTC 111-2221-E-027 -059 -MY2 and 109-2221-E-027 -069 -MY2.