Differences between Siblings, Adults, Peers, and Apps Mediated Effects in Autism-Related Single Subject Designs: A Comparative Study Using ANOVA

Abstract

In the area of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other learning disabilities, numerous single-subject design studies have evidenced the effective mediation of siblings, peers, adults, and apps to help children diagnosed with ASD and comorbidities function better. Yet, the existing literature base suggests that potential studies that could tell the most effective mediation are almost non-existent. This study aimed to compare the different effects achieved by children diagnosed with ASD with the mediation of their siblings, adults, peers, or Apps. To achieve this objective, the effect sizes of 407 children and adolescents (ages ranged from one to 17 years with an average age of 4.71 (SD = 2.07)) diagnosed with ASD and its comorbidities, retrieved and computed from 131 single-subject design published journals were used to conduct an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Whereas the descriptive statistics suggested medium to strong effect sizes, the results of the ANOVA and follow-up post-hoc analysis suggested that apps could be better predictors/mediators of achievement for children diagnosed with ASD. The researchers discussed the findings and made suggestions for future studies regarding the development and utilization of more sophisticated ASD-related apps, specifically designed to meet the mediation needs of children and adolescents alongside human interventionists.