The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using the Apple iPad to assist students with low functioning autism in learning communication skills. Three non-verbal students identified as having autism and being low-functioning participated in the study. A multiple baseline design with AB phases across academic and social settings was used. During the baseline, students were given access to an iPad with the SonoFlex voice output communication aid (VOCA) application. Some of the students played games on the iPad, but none of them attempted to us it for communication purposes. During the intervention, students were taught to use the iPad to communicate with their teacher and peers. With a least-to-most prompting hierarchy, all students increased initiating requests, responding to questions and making social comments.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using the Apple iPad to assist students with low functioning autism in learning communication skills. Three non-verbal students identified as having autism and being low-functioning participated in the study. A multiple baseline design with AB phases across academic and social settings was used. During the baseline, students were given access to an iPad with the SonoFlex voice output communication aid (VOCA) application. Some of the students played games on the iPad, but none of them attempted to us it for communication purposes. During the intervention, students were taught to use the iPad to communicate with their teacher and peers. With a least-to-most prompting hierarchy, all students increased initiating requests, responding to questions and making social comments.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Leonard, Deborah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. Special Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Special Educational Services/Instruction","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Xin, Joy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-07-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-07-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:03Z","subjects":["Autism spectrum disorders; Tablet computers","Special Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/279","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":["Leonard, Deborah"]}]},{"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":["Special Educational Services/Instruction"]},{"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; Tablet computers","Special Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/279"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using the Apple iPad to assist students with low functioning autism in learning communication skills. Three non-verbal students identified as having autism and being low-functioning participated in the study. A multiple baseline design with AB phases across academic and social settings was used. During the baseline, students were given access to an iPad with the SonoFlex voice output communication aid (VOCA) application. Some of the students played games on the iPad, but none of them attempted to us it for communication purposes. During the intervention, students were taught to use the iPad to communicate with their teacher and peers. With a least-to-most prompting hierarchy, all students increased initiating requests, responding to questions and making social comments.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Using an iPad to teach spontaneous communication of students with low-functioning autism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Xin, Joy"],"dc:creator":["Leonard, Deborah"],"dc:date.available":["2015-12-21T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using the Apple iPad to assist students with low functioning autism in learning communication skills. Three non-verbal students identified as having autism and being low-functioning participated in the study. A multiple baseline design with AB phases across academic and social settings was used. During the baseline, students were given access to an iPad with the SonoFlex voice output communication aid (VOCA) application. Some of the students played games on the iPad, but none of them attempted to us it for communication purposes. During the intervention, students were taught to use the iPad to communicate with their teacher and peers. With a least-to-most prompting hierarchy, all students increased initiating requests, responding to questions and making social comments.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/279"],"dc:subject":["Autism spectrum disorders; Tablet computers","Special Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Using an iPad to teach spontaneous communication of students with low-functioning autism"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Special Educational Services/Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. Special Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:03Z"}