PILOT USE OF PDA TECHNOLOGY TO TEACH TEENS WITH ASD & NLD ABOUT FLEXIBILITY, FEELINGS AND SENSORY STATES AT A THERAPEUTIC SUMMER DAY CAMP

Background: ASD and NLD individuals demonstrate difficulties in cognitive flexibility, social awareness, emotionality and sensory regulation.  They have difficulty identifying how these areas impact their social success.

Objectives: To increase the self-awareness of adolescents diagnosed with ASD and NLD in the following areas: social awareness, feeling states, cognitive flexibility and sensory awareness (engine speed) through the use of a PDA.   

Methods: Eleven ASD teens and one NLD teen (males, ages 13 – 17) were enrolled in a 7 week 5 day/week summer program.  On multiple occasions per day they and four staff recorded simultaneous data for feeling states, sensory states, cognitive flexibility and group participation.

Results: Correlations were computed to evaluate group differences between staff and teen perception recordings on the above measures. In the emotionality arena moderate levels of agreement on the happiness scale were found between staff and teens. No agreement was found on the anxiety scale. While reviewing the graphic representation of anxiety on staff and teen data, teen awareness and insight improved.  Staff perception of teens’ level of flexibility correlated with the perception of the teens’ positive group participation.  But teens’ perception of their flexibility did not correlate with their perceived level of positive group participation.  Concurrent discussions of the data allowed for an individual teen’s perspective of flexibility to be elucidated with positive outcome.

Conclusions: For individuals with ASD and NLD, PDAs for data collection and as a teaching tool are valuable.  Graphical representations fostered discussion on perceptions of cognitive flexibility, engine speed and feelings states and their influence on social success. Further research using objective data collection (e.g. heart rate, skin conductance etc.) in addition to self and observer reports should be explored.