Augmented Reality in Auditory-visual Conditional Discrimination Training for Children with Autism

Introduction: Auditory-visual conditional discrimination is essential in developing functional skills, such as self-care and cognitive, social, and academic skills. Despite the availability of various effective methods, some children continue to face challenges in acquiring this form of discrimination. Method: This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of using picture cards versus augmented reality as learning material for auditory-visual conditional discrimination in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three boys aged 3 to 6, all diagnosed with ASD, participated in this study. Instruction and data collection took place in the participants’ homes. A single-subject research design was used, an adapted alternating treatment design embedded in multiple probes across participants. Findings: Results showed that all participants successfully acquired the skill under augmented reality conditions, generalized their learning to different instructional sets, and retained their skills for two and five weeks after instruction. Conversely, only one participant successfully acquired, generalized, and maintained the skill in picture card condition. Discussion: The findings suggest that augmented reality-based teaching methods can enhance the acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discrimination for children with ASD, particularly those who struggle to learn with traditional picture cards for various reasons. Social validity assessments suggest that augmented reality learning materials provide a stronger perceived validity compared to picture cards.