SIGUEME: Technology-based intervention for low-functioning autism to train skills to work with visual signifiers and concepts

Publication date: May 2017
Source:Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 64
Author(s): María Vélez-Coto, María José Rodríguez-Fórtiz, María Luisa Rodriguez-Almendros, Marcelino Cabrera-Cuevas, Carlos Rodríguez-Domínguez, Tomás Ruiz-López, Ángeles Burgos-Pulido, Inmaculada Garrido-Jiménez, Juan Martos-Pérez
BackgroundPeople with low-functioning ASD and other disabilities often find it difficult to understand the symbols traditionally used in educational materials during the learning process. Technology-based interventions are becoming increasingly common, helping children with cognitive disabilities to perform academic tasks and improve their abilities and knowledge. Such children often find it difficult to perform certain tasks contained in educational materials since they lack necessary skills such as abstract reasoning. In order to help these children, the authors designed and created SIGUEME to train attention and the perceptual and visual cognitive skills required to work with and understand graphic materials and objects.MethodsA pre-test/post-test design was implemented to test SIGUEME. Seventy-four children with low-functioning ASD (age=13.47, SD=8.74) were trained with SIGUEME over twenty-five sessions and compared with twenty-eight children (age=12.61, SD=2.85) who had not received any intervention.ResultsThere was a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group in Attention (W=−5.497, p<0.001). There was also a significant change in Association and Categorization (W=2.721, p=0.007) and Interaction (W=−3.287, p=0.001).ConclusionsSIGUEME is an effective tool for improving attention, categorization and interaction in low-functioning children with ASD. It is also a useful and powerful instrument for teachers, parents and educators by increasing the child's motivation and autonomy.



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