The Effects of Solve It! on the Mathematical Word Problem Solving Ability of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

General education placement of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased at a rate faster than all other disability categories combined. As more children are diagnosed with ASD and expected to meet the same academic standards as their neurotypical peers, there is a demand for effective educational strategies. Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, seven cognitive strategies and three meta-cognitive strategies from the Solve it! Problem Solving Routine were taught to three adolescents with ASD. Percent of correct responses on word problems improved immediately upon implementation of the intervention. A peer comparison validation strategy was used to compare participants’ accuracy with the class average. All three participants got more problems correct during intervention when compared with their peers; this effect persisted for two participants during maintenance. The impact of the characteristics of ASD on the use of each strategy implemented within the Solve It! Problem Solving Routine is discussed.