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Effects of Social Stories on Increasing Social Interaction and Engagement of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Settings

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Abstract

d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may require specific approaches to promote social inclusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of reading social stories with American Sign Language vocabulary to students who are d/Dhh with ASD (d/Dhh-ASD) and their peers in inclusive settings, using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. To examine the effectiveness of the intervention, the frequency of four communicative social behaviors and the duration of social engagement with peers were recorded for each participant during lunchtime and recess. The results did not show an immediate effect across all participants. Implications for promoting social inclusion for students who are d/Dhh-ASD in general education classrooms are discussed.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Explore Grant, an internal competition within the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. Ethical approval was granted by the Behavioural Research Ethics Board of University of British Columbia (No. H19-00004). Relevant documentation and/or data for validity of the results are available upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Counselling Psychology and Special Education, The University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, Canada

    Eun Young Kwon, Joanna E. Cannon, Victoria F. Knight & Sterett H. Mercer

  2. Department of Exceptional, Deaf, & Interpreter Education, College of Education and Human Services, University of North Florida, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA

    Caroline Guardino

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  1. Eun Young Kwon
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  2. Joanna E. Cannon
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Eun Young Kwon. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Eun Young Kwon and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Kwon, E.Y., Cannon, J.E., Knight, V.F. et al. Effects of Social Stories on Increasing Social Interaction and Engagement of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Settings. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 1915–1929 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05430-4

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