In this paper, we describe an intervention implemented to assist a 13.2-year-old boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder, G, without intellectual disability, aimed at improving his ability to compose persuasive texts. There was an initial assessment (baseline), an intermediate assessment after two weeks, a six-session intervention phase, and a post-intervention assessment. Our intervention applied two procedures. The first aimed at enhancing general composition abilities in terms of picking (P) ideas, organizing (O) notes, and writing (W) them down (POW), while the second specified the steps to write a persuasive text addressing a possible reader: a topic sentence (T), reasons (R), an explanation (E) for the reasons and the end of the sentence (E) (TREE). These procedures were termed POW + TREE. To analyze G’s texts, three types of measures were used by two raters at baseline, intermediate and post-test time: a) the presence of the TREE components; b) the quality of the reasons and explanations for the reasons; c) the number of mental state terms. All these measures showed relevant quantitative improvements, as well as qualitative changes. In addition, when G’s performance at the end of the intervention was compared to that of typically developing controls, no statistical difference appeared. The results are discussed in light of the potentialities offered by the type of intervention described here.

Improving the ability to write persuasive texts in a boy with autism spectrum disorder: outcomes of an intervention / Melogno, S.; Pinto, M. A.; Ruzza, A.; Scalisi, T. G.. - In: BRAIN SCIENCES. - ISSN 2076-3425. - 10:5(2020), pp. 2-12. [10.3390/brainsci10050264]

Improving the ability to write persuasive texts in a boy with autism spectrum disorder: outcomes of an intervention

Pinto M. A.
Secondo
;
Scalisi T. G.
Ultimo
2020

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an intervention implemented to assist a 13.2-year-old boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder, G, without intellectual disability, aimed at improving his ability to compose persuasive texts. There was an initial assessment (baseline), an intermediate assessment after two weeks, a six-session intervention phase, and a post-intervention assessment. Our intervention applied two procedures. The first aimed at enhancing general composition abilities in terms of picking (P) ideas, organizing (O) notes, and writing (W) them down (POW), while the second specified the steps to write a persuasive text addressing a possible reader: a topic sentence (T), reasons (R), an explanation (E) for the reasons and the end of the sentence (E) (TREE). These procedures were termed POW + TREE. To analyze G’s texts, three types of measures were used by two raters at baseline, intermediate and post-test time: a) the presence of the TREE components; b) the quality of the reasons and explanations for the reasons; c) the number of mental state terms. All these measures showed relevant quantitative improvements, as well as qualitative changes. In addition, when G’s performance at the end of the intervention was compared to that of typically developing controls, no statistical difference appeared. The results are discussed in light of the potentialities offered by the type of intervention described here.
2020
Adolescence; autism spectrum disorder; intervention; perspective-taking; persuasive text writing
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Improving the ability to write persuasive texts in a boy with autism spectrum disorder: outcomes of an intervention / Melogno, S.; Pinto, M. A.; Ruzza, A.; Scalisi, T. G.. - In: BRAIN SCIENCES. - ISSN 2076-3425. - 10:5(2020), pp. 2-12. [10.3390/brainsci10050264]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1477756
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