A Personal Narrative Intervention for Adults With Autism and Intellectual Disability.

Researchers taught adults with autism how to tell better personal stories using visual aids and practice. Adults with autism often struggle to share stories in a clear, organized way. The study found that with this teaching method, all participants improved their ability to tell more detailed and well-organized personal stories about their own experiences.

This single-case study examined a personal narrative intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without intellectual disability (ID). The intervention taught macrostructure components using visual supports and repeated practice opportunities to help participants create more coherent and complex personal narratives. Using an ABAB withdrawal design, researchers found that all participants demonstrated improved narrative coherence and complexity during intervention phases. This research addresses the challenges individuals with ASD face in sharing personal stories due to their unique social cognitive profiles, extending previous successful work with children to adult populations.

Personal narrative interventions using visual supports and structured practice may be beneficial for improving communication skills in adults with autism. This approach could be integrated into speech therapy and social skills programs for adults with ASD.

Single-case design limits generalizability. Sample size not reported. No long-term follow-up data provided. Limited details about participant characteristics and intervention specifics in the abstract.

Due to the unique social cognitive profiles of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without intellectual disability (ID) sharing coherent and complex personal narratives can be challenging. To address these challenges research has focused on teaching macrostructure components using visual supports and repeated opportunities to practice. Despite success by young children with ASD and ID, the application of this instruction for adults with ASD with and without ID is still largely unknown. An ABAB single case withdrawal design was used to determine the effects of a personal narrative intervention to teach macrostructure within participant-generated personal narratives.

Results indicate all participants demonstrated more coherent and complex personal narratives with the intervention. The results and implications for practice are discussed.