Computer-mediated intervention: Can cognitive flexibility of autistic children be improved?

Among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) some executive functions were found to be deficient, in particular cognitive flexibility (De Vries & Geurts, 2012; Wang, 2010). Various studies have shown that difficulties in cognitive flexibility affect the social functioning of children with ASD (Bauminger, 2002; Hill, 2004). Studies also shows that technology enhance the ability of children with ASD to learn (Battocchi et al., 2008; Ploog et al., 2013), and effective in promoting cognitive flexibility (Panerai et al., 2014) and social problem solving (Parsons & Mitchell, 2002; Wainer & Ingersoll, 2011).

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of a computer-mediated intervention program on the cognitive flexibility of children with high-functioning autism (HFASD). The study concludes 44 children, ages 5-7, which were divided to three groups: (1) 15 HFASD who experienced a computer-mediated intervention, (2) 14 HFASD who had a traditional pictures-mediated intervention, and (3) 15 typical development that served as a control group and did not undergo any intervention.

Pre-intervention: the parents completed a demographic questionnaire and the SCQ questionnaire which provided information on the child's functioning in language, communication, and social networking. In addition, all participants underwent language assessment using the PPVT-III test to determines the level of verbal IQ, and a test for the evaluation of cognitive flexibility. The participants with HFASD underwent the cognitive flexibility assessment after the intervention. The intervention concludes five 45-min sessions of individual intervention.

Results indicated that pre-intervention children with HFASD presented a lower level of cognitive flexibility than children with typical development. After the intervention, children with HFASD presented a higher level of cognitive flexibility following the computer-mediated intervention, compared to the picture mediated intervention.
The results of this study may contribute to early intervention programs aimed at improving the social and cognitive functioning of children with ASD.