The effectiveness of technology supported education to prevent sexual abuse in children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of technology-supported sexual abuse prevention training provided to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, the social validity of the research was investigated based on the opinions of the mothers of the children participating in the research. The study was conducted with 4 male subjects with ASD between the ages of 8-13. A multiple probe design with probe conditions across subjects, one of the single-subject research models, was used in the study. Based on the findings regarding the effectiveness of the intervention it was concluded that technology-supported sexual abuse prevention training was effective in teaching sexual abuse prevention knowledge and skills to children with ASD. At the knowledge level, all subjects learnt the names of private body parts, the places where underwear can be removed, and the concepts of good and bad touch and at the skill level, they learnt to say "No" and leave the setting and to report the situation to a trusted person. It was also observed that all subjects maintained the target knowledge and skills and generalized them to different instruments, settings and people 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the end of instructional sessions. The social validity findings of the study showed that the mothers of the subjects expressed positive opinions about the study.