Facebook is a popular social media website that allows people to interact with friends and loved ones from far away and around the world. With its growing popularity, this study was conducted to examine if Facebook would improve social communication skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A total of nine students with ASD on two school campuses participated in the study. A multiple baseline single subject design across settings was used. During the baseline, students were observed and their initiation and reciprocation in communication with peers and teachers were recorded. During the intervention, students were instructed to use Facebook over a two week period, with appropriate training to assist in improving conversational skills and providing appropriate personal information on the internet. The results showed that students improved their skills in initiating and reciprocating social communication through the use of Facebook, in the meantime, their face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers were increased.
","abstract_html":"<p>Facebook is a popular social media website that allows people to interact with friends and loved ones from far away and around the world. With its growing popularity, this study was conducted to examine if Facebook would improve social communication skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A total of nine students with ASD on two school campuses participated in the study. A multiple baseline single subject design across settings was used. During the baseline, students were observed and their initiation and reciprocation in communication with peers and teachers were recorded. During the intervention, students were instructed to use Facebook over a two week period, with appropriate training to assist in improving conversational skills and providing appropriate personal information on the internet. The results showed that students improved their skills in initiating and reciprocating social communication through the use of Facebook, in the meantime, their face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers were increased.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Graham, Genna"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. Special Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Language, Literacy, and Special Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Xin, Joy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-09-07T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-09-07T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:12:56Z","subjects":["Autism spectrum disorders; Online social networks","Special Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/205","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Xin, Joy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Graham, Genna"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-12-21T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Language, Literacy, and Special Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. Special Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autism spectrum disorders; Online social networks","Special Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/205"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Facebook is a popular social media website that allows people to interact with friends and loved ones from far away and around the world. With its growing popularity, this study was conducted to examine if Facebook would improve social communication skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A total of nine students with ASD on two school campuses participated in the study. A multiple baseline single subject design across settings was used. During the baseline, students were observed and their initiation and reciprocation in communication with peers and teachers were recorded. During the intervention, students were instructed to use Facebook over a two week period, with appropriate training to assist in improving conversational skills and providing appropriate personal information on the internet. The results showed that students improved their skills in initiating and reciprocating social communication through the use of Facebook, in the meantime, their face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers were increased.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Using Facebook to improve social communication skills of students with autism spectrum disorders"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Xin, Joy"],"dc:creator":["Graham, Genna"],"dc:date.available":["2015-12-21T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Facebook is a popular social media website that allows people to interact with friends and loved ones from far away and around the world. With its growing popularity, this study was conducted to examine if Facebook would improve social communication skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A total of nine students with ASD on two school campuses participated in the study. A multiple baseline single subject design across settings was used. During the baseline, students were observed and their initiation and reciprocation in communication with peers and teachers were recorded. During the intervention, students were instructed to use Facebook over a two week period, with appropriate training to assist in improving conversational skills and providing appropriate personal information on the internet. The results showed that students improved their skills in initiating and reciprocating social communication through the use of Facebook, in the meantime, their face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers were increased.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/205"],"dc:subject":["Autism spectrum disorders; Online social networks","Special Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Using Facebook to improve social communication skills of students with autism spectrum disorders"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Language, Literacy, and Special Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. Special Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:12:56Z"}