Effects of Comic Strip Conversations Intervention on Academic Engagement Behaviors of Elementary School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a comic strip conversation intervention on academic engagement behaviors of elementary school students with autism spectrum disorders. The subjects were two upper elementary-aged male students with autism spectrum disorders Multiple probe design across subjects was used to assess the academic engagement behaviors, and the procedures were composed of baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. The comic strip conversion intervention was implemented in the special education classroom for 3-5 times in a week. The special education teacher provided one-to-one instruction to the subject. The data for generalization was collected in regular classroom after intervention termination, and the data for maintenance was collected after two weeks of intervention termination. The results were as follows. First, the comic strip conversation intervention had positive impact on the rate of academic engagement behaviors of the subjects with autism spectrum disorders. Second, the effects of the intervention were generalized in regular classroom setting. Third, the effects of the intervention were maintained after the completion of the intervention. These results imply that the comic strip conversation intervention is helpful to improve the academic engagement behaviors of elementary school students with autism spectrum disorders.