The effects of speech output technology on skill acquisition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a preliminary investigation

Previous research on the use of voice output communication aids (VOCAs) has found a number of positive effects on the behavior of both the VOCA user and their communicative partners. Among these outcomes, studies have found that incorporating speech output into language learning tasks may result in faster and more efficient learning for adults with disabilities (e.g., Kohl & Schlosser, 2005; Schlosser et al, 1998). However, these studies have been conducted with adult participants, thus the effects of VOCA on the learning of graphic symbols in children are still unknown. Furthermore, the relationship between speech output and skill acquisition has not yet been evaluated for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The present study aimed to assess whether previous findings on the effects of VOCA on learning could extend to school-aged children with ASD. This study employed a single-case, multielement design with multiple baseline probes to evaluate differences in teaching with speech output (SO condition) versus no speech output (NSO condition) across three sets of stimuli for Alan, a 12-year-old male with ASD. Results showed that higher rates of correct responding and lower rates of errors for targets were obtained in the SO condition. Furthermore, Alan met mastery criteria with SO targets in approximately half the number of sessions required for mastery of NSO targets across tiers, indicating higher efficiency in the SO sessions. Findings from this investigation thus provide strong preliminary evidence for the benefits of speech output in skill acquisition for children with ASD, both in terms of student accuracy and session efficiency.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Mariana Torres-Vis