An Intervention Study of Augmentative Sign Language on the Ability to Describe Situations in Autistic Children with Speech Impairments

Social impairment is one of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, while the common issue among those affected is a significant delay in both receptive and expressive language development. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of augmentative sign language (ASL) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in improving their ability to describe situations. In accordance with the purpose of the study, the A-B-M experimental design of the single-study experimental method was used to conduct an instructional intervention with a 7-year-old child with autism who has a speech and language disorder. The independent variable was the supported sign language intervention programme, and the dependent variable was the ability of sign language to assist spoken description of situations including nouns, verbs, adjectives, quantifiers and prepositions. The results showed that augmentative sign language had an immediate and maintenance effect on the ability to describe a situation in children with autism who had language impairments.