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The Effect of Using an Arabic Assistive Application on Improving the Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Comprehend and Answer Content Questions

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Abstract

Numerous studies suggest that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encounter language problems related to syntax. In particular, these children face difficulties in comprehending and answering complex language structures in Arabic.

This paper examines whether a prototype Arabic assistive application can have an impact on the ability of children with ASD to comprehend and answer content questions and on their communicative skills. Via two questionnaires targeting 57 caregivers and ASD specialists in Jordan and a focus-group discussion with three teachers working in three autism centers in Jordan, a prototype assistive application named Aseel was created. To test the effect of using this app on enhancing ASD children’s ability to comprehend and answer Arabic questions, a sample consisting of two groups of children: 20 verbal and 5 nonverbal children with ASD enrolled in three autism centers in Amman, Jordan was recruited. A pre-test containing 55 content questions was designed and tested on the two groups. Then, a treatment for three weeks took place in which the teachers trained the children on answering these questions using the app. A post-test was conducted after a three-day break to test whether the app affected the ability of verbal and nonverbal children with ASD to comprehend and answer the questions accurately. The data analysis revealed that the differences between the answers of the two groups in the pre- and post-tests were statistically significant. This suggests that this technology has the potential to aid both verbal and nonverbal children with ASD in effectively learning complex Arabic content questions. This assistive application enhances collaboration between teacher and children with ASD, visual-spatial thinking and communication with others. Another advantage of this app is increasing ASD children’s vocabulary repertoire. Preliminary results involving nonverbal children showed that the icons which visually and auditorily represent the most basic needs for a person are proving effective in helping this group communicate with their caregivers and teachers.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study will be made available upon request.

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Funding

This research project was funded by the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, specifically, the Scientific Research and Innovation Support Fund, Amman/Jordan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English Language and Literature, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Aseel Zibin

  2. University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh, Dima Suleiman & Bassam Al Abdallat

Authors
  1. Aseel Zibin
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  2. Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh
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  3. Dima Suleiman
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  4. Bassam Al Abdallat
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Contributions

The first and second author contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by all four authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all four authors. Proofreading and copy-editing was performed by the first author. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript, and all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Aseel Zibin.

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Ethics Approval

This study which involved human participants was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). The research committee at the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research provided the ethical approval for this research project (No. SOCI/1/5/2021). Ethical principles were followed in the process of conducting the empirical research: the principle of voluntary consent (Informed consent was obtained from the administration of three autism centers in Amman namely, Sunny Children Center, Tawasul Center for Autism, and Excellence Comprehensive Autism Academy); the principle of minimizing risks for participants; the principle of confidentiality; the principle of informing participants about the content of the research; the principle of mandatory documentation of the stages and the results of the research; the principle of reliability of methodical instruments of the research; and the principle of validity of research data processing.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Zibin, A., Altakhaineh, A.R.M., Suleiman, D. et al. The Effect of Using an Arabic Assistive Application on Improving the Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Comprehend and Answer Content Questions. J Psycholinguist Res 52, 2743–2762 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-023-10019-8

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