Increasing Social Communication by Teaching Texting to Autistic Children

OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we increased the social communication of four autistic children by teaching texting conversation skills on smart phones. METHODS: A multiple baseline design across two dyads was used to assess the texting conversation intervention, with additional generalization probes taken across texting partners and FaceTime® sessions. One-month maintenance probes were also assessed. RESULTS: All four participants increased their conversational texting, and their conversation content was novel. Generalization across texting partners occurred, and skills were maintained. Appropriate verbal content spoken during FaceTime® probes was also observed. CONCLUSIONS: Results are discussed in terms of the potential benefits of teaching autistic children social communication through text.