Comparing and Combining Accommodation and Remediation Interventions to Improve the Written-Language Performance of Children With Asperger Syndrome

Abstract

The relative effectiveness of two writing accommodations, word processing (WP) and speech-recognition (SR) technology, was examined relative to the writing skills of four boys with Asperger syndrome. The more effective accommodation was then combined with the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) writing intervention and compared with SRSD and handwriting (HW) combined to determine whether participants’ writing skills would be further improved. Using a multiple-phase alternating-treatments design with a final treatment phase, outcomes indicated that the SR accommodation improved writing fluency and quality better than WP and HW. However, participants produced the most fluent and highest quality writing when SRSD intervention was combined with SR as compared with SRSD paired with HW, SR alone, and HW alone. Implications and future directions are discussed.