An app to encourage social interaction by children with autism spectrum disorder: A proof of concept study

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can demonstrate impaired social and communication skills. This project explored whether the app ‘Talk With Me’ assisted children with ASD to communicate with others. Eight participant families, with children aged between 3–11 years, were interviewed before and after using the app in their homes or social situations. Children engaged with the app early on, but engagement decreased over the study period, primarily due to the limited number of conversations available to them, which were, for some children, either too hard or too easy or not interesting enough. Most families perceived their child to have gained increased confidence and participation at school, and improved turn-taking during conversations. ‘Talk With Me’ appears to have potential for assisting children with ASD to develop communication and conversational skills. Further development to enable customisation of the app by families would increase its relevance to individual children’s needs and interests.