17/05/2019 A meta-analysis of single-case research on the use of tablet-mediated interventions for persons with ASD - ScienceDirect

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Research in Developmental Disabilities

Volume 70, November 2017, Pages 198-214

Review article

A meta-analysis of single-case research on the use of tablet-

mediated interventions for persons with ASD
Ee Rea Hong a , Li-yuan Gong a , Jennifer Ninci b , Kristi Morin c , John L. Davis d , Sawako Kawaminami
a , Yan-qiu Shi a , Fumiyuki Noro a

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2017.09.013 Get rights and content

Highlights
• This study presents a meta-analytic review of single-case experimental studies
involving tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD.

• This meta-analysis includes 26 studies that meet minimum criteria on quality

standards developed by What Works Clearinghouse (Kratochwill et al., 2010/2014).

• The Tau nonoverlap effect size with the Kruskal-Wallis and the Dunn post-hoc
tests were calculated to analyze participant age, participant diagnosis,
independent variable, outcome measure, setting, and context.

• Results show that tablet-based interventions for individuals with ASD have
moderate to large effects across the variables analyzed.

• Although effects were strongest for participants with high-functioning autism, a

majority of research in this review targets individuals with classic autism or
autism and intellectual disabilities.

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17/05/2019 A meta-analysis of single-case research on the use of tablet-mediated interventions for persons with ASD - ScienceDirect

Abstract

Background
There is a growing amount of single-case research literature on the benefits of tablet-
mediated interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With the
development of tablet-based computers, tablet-mediated interventions have been widely
utilized for education and treatment purposes; however, the overall quality and evidence of
this literature-base are unknown.

Aims
This article aims to present a quality review of the single-case experimental literature and
aggregate results across studies involving the use of tablet-mediated interventions for
individuals with ASD.

Methods and procedures

Using the Tau nonoverlap effect size measure, the authors extracted data from single-case
experimental studies and calculated effect sizes differentiated by moderator variables. The
moderator variables included the ages of participants, participants’ diagnoses, interventions,
outcome measures, settings, and contexts.

Outcomes and results

Results indicate that tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD have moderate to
large effect sizes across the variables evaluated. The majority of research in this review used
tablets for video modeling and augmentative and alternative communication.

Conclusions and implications

To promote the usability of tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD, this
review indicates that more single-case experimental studies should be conducted with this
population in naturalistic home, community, and employment settings.

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Keywords
Tablet-mediated; Autism spectrum disorder; Single-case research; Meta-analytic
review; Effect sizes

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17/05/2019 A meta-analysis of single-case research on the use of tablet-mediated interventions for persons with ASD - ScienceDirect

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