Project Description:
The proposed project is intended to develop an existing clinic-based curriculum for social competence intervention for youth with an autism spectrum disorder into a cost-effective school-based model that can be delivered via networked, 3D-based virtual learning environments (3D-VLE). The goal is to develop the current clinic based program into the 3D-VLE, as a means to further the promise of making forms of targeted interventions, with high quality, available in schools to youth with ASD who have no or limited access to these scarce face-to-face evidenced-based interventions.
The project work and feasibility testing takes place in mid-missouri, but the intended audience can be anywhere that has sufficient Internet connections, so the intervention may be particularly valuable for rural schools. The project is being developed for educators and their students aged 11 to 14 with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Asperger Syndrome and an IQ of 75 or above.
The clinic-based program (Social Competence Intervention based on a framework of Cognitive Behavioral Intervention: SCI-CBI) provides a 10 week curriculum to help youth improve on critical social competencies of (a) recognizing facial expressions, (b) sharing ideas, (c) turn taking in conversations, (d) recognizing feelings and emotions of self and others, and (e) problem solving, each in successive two-week increments. 3D VLE provides a virtual and social experience through an internet-connected computer. In iSocial students will work online with a trained guide and other online students to undertake the SCI-CBI curriculum. 3D VLE offers the potential to make this curriculum available to students in schools and leverage University resources and expertise for educators working to intervene with these students.
The development of software code and visual representation to create a 3 dimensional virtual world includes usability testing, usage testing and field tests to assure a product that effectively delivers the SCI-CBI curriculum. A series of focus groups with educators and the use of field tests will be undertaken to understand exactly how iSocial can be implemented in schools with fidelity to the original curriculum and to assure it is a match for how schools and educators would like to implement this form of intervention. In the third year of the project field tests with youth in their school settings will be undertaken to both provide feedback to the development and assess the potential of iSocial as a support to educators. To assess the potential of a fully developed iSocial to improve social competency for the students, multiple measures including t-test comparisons of pre and post measures will be undertaken with the Social Responsiveness Scales (SRS; Constantino & Gruber, 2005) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000).
