title: Using Multitouch Collaboration Technology to Enhance Social Interaction of Children with High-Functioning Autism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD) have major difficulties in social communication skills, which may impact their performance and participation in everyday life. The goal of this study was to examine whether the StoryTable, an intervention paradigm based on a collaborative narrative, multitouch tabletop interface, enhanced social interaction for children with HFASD, and to determine whether the acquired abilities were transferred to behaviors during other tasks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen boys with HFASD, aged 7-12 years, participated in a 3-week, 11-session intervention. Social interactions during two nonintervention tasks were videotaped at three points in time, one prior to the intervention (pre), a second immediately following the intervention (post) and a third three weeks after the intervention (follow-up). The video-recorded files were coded using the Friendship Observation Scale to ascertain the frequencies of positive and negative social interactions and collaborative play. Differences in these behaviors were tested for significance using nonparametric statistical tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significantly higher rates of positive social interactions and collaborative play, and lower rates of negative social interactions following the intervention suggesting generalization of the social skills learned during the intervention. Improvement was maintained when tested three weeks later.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provide support for the use of collaborative technology-based interventions within educational settings to enhance social interaction of children with HFASD.
authors.affiliation: a University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
authors.forename: Eynat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gal
authors.affiliation: a University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
authors.forename: Liron
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lamash
authors.affiliation: b Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Nirit
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bauminger-Zviely
authors.affiliation: c Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) , Trento , Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zancanaro
authors.affiliation: a University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.
authors.forename: Patrice L Tamar
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012919:Social Behavior; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Children; high-functioning autism spectrum disorders; social interaction; social intervention; technology