Tool-based interventions for improving language development in children with autism spectrum disorder – case studies based on typical developmental peer interventions

Objective: Based on the theory that tool-handling activities activate certain brain regions related to language development, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of online training involving tool-handling activities in improving the language skills of children with autism spectrum disorders. Methods: A multi-baseline experimental design was used. Three children with autism spectrum disorders served as subjects. Their abilities were assessed through language repetition tasks, sentence comprehension tasks, and storytelling tasks using linked pictures. The subjects underwent 15 sessions of screwdriver-handling training under the supervision of typically developing siblings. This allowed for an assessment of the impact of the intervention on the subjects’ language skills. Results: In terms of language expression, all three children showed significant improvements.