Investigation of Effect of Storytelling on Verbal Language of Autism Children (Mild To Moderate Spectrum)

This study examined the effect of storytelling on verbal language in the mild to moderate autism spectrum children. Autism is the most important developmental disorder impairing social skills and language development and leads to communication inability. Twenty children aged 4-7 years with mild to moderate autism (available samples) who referred to Mashhad Nour-e-Hedayat center were selected. They were randomly divided into two groups of 10, i.e. control and experimental groups. The experimental group experienced learning to understand and produce speech through storytelling. Approximately 30 stories appropriate for the age of 3-7 years were chosen and told to children about 30 minutes (daily for three months). In both groups, children linguistic skills were assessed at the beginning and end of the study using Test of Language Development-Primary, 3rd Edition (TOLD-P:3). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24 software. Inter- group comparison of language skills was performed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Intra-group comparisons were performed using Wilcoxon test. The intra-group results showed a significant difference between the verbal language before and after the intervention. There was no significant difference in spoken ability of the experimental and control groups before and after the study. At the end of the study, the difference in speaking proficiency was significant between children of two groups. The results of this study showed the effect of storytelling on increasing the verbal language skills of children with mild to moderate autism spectrum.