Measuring the Engagement of Modules in Educating Social Interaction Skill for Children with Autism

Abstract

Autism is a neurological disorder that affects the growth of mind, causing problematic measure in communicating, interacting, and social behaviour. Outstanding educational practices and rapid intermediation leads to vast improvement, as there is no remedy for autism. The main impairment of children with autism is their difficulty in social interaction. The main research is to recognize the effective learning approach in educating social interaction skills to children with autism using mobile technology. This paper presents the result of a engagement session of video modules to support social interaction training for children with autism. The modules are designed to be a part of a mobile application that will be developed based on the three basic interaction skills; Introducing Yourself, Emotions and Gestures. Engagement session was conducted where students with medium functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), aged 7-18 years watched the modules for social competence training during a single session. Outcome measures included an observation study of the student’s reactions towards the modules by two observers. The observers graded each student’s reactions using a ‘Social Skill Rubric’ that has five specific criteria to be scored. Results showed excellent acceptance of modules as well as strong preferences amongst them. The students revealed a range of different reactions towards the modules. However, mainly the modules do appeared to be effective in educating social interaction to children with autism as they are able to focus and enjoy in the learning process.