For years the use of computers in the treatment of children with autism has been a controversial topic among professionals and parents.

Relying upon scientific research that has demonstrated children with autism can learn at a faster pace by using custom computer-based educational software programs to supplement traditional teaching methods, special needs educational publisher Super Duper® Publications in Greenville, S.C. recently released HearBuilder™ – Following Directions.

This evidence-based, interactive software program is designed to help all children, particularly those with autism, learn how to follow directions as they learn 40 basic concepts. 

The authors and developers of HearBuilder-Following Directions, Mark Strait, MEd, CCC-SLP and Susie Loraine, MA, CCC-SLP, designed the Hearbuilder-FD Professional and Home Editions so that all children who used the program would learn to follow increasingly difficult directions while demonstrating knowledge of 40 basic concepts. These concepts are in five primary areas: basic directions, sequential directions, quantitative and spatial directions temporal directions, and conditional directions.

In the past 30 years, research studies have supported the conclusion that combining computer lessons with personal teaching instruction can help a child with autism increase vocabulary skills, as well as improve their ability to identify written words, recognize symbols, and name objects and places. This has been especially true when the software contains learning objectives which give immediate feedback to the student, and requires the child to actively respond to learning tasks. HearBuilder-FD has numerous step-by-step learning objectives, and its game-type framework promotes and encourages active learning.

HearBuilder-FD combines its many learning exercises with elements of play. At the beginning of each session, the student enters into Toy Central, an imaginary factory where making, inspecting, packing, and shipping colorful toys to children all over the world takes place.  As they proceed through the program, players strive to become Master Toy Makers and earn parts of the master uniform, such as goggles and lab coats.

After finishing a complete level of instruction, the student builds a portion of their personal Toy Central factory. The HearBuilder-FD Professional Edition allows the therapist or teacher to individualize each student’s program, set levels of difficulty for each activity, identify and print learning objectives for all levels, add background noise at any level, monitor and track progress for an unlimited number of students, and print customized reports. The Home Edition give parents the ability to set beginning, advanced, and expert levels of play, track and monitor progress, print updated reports, and add background noise at the expert level.

All of the HearBuilder-Following Direction’s salient features have their roots in Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) scientific research in the area of special education. Scientists have studied learning behaviors to determine how children with autism acquire knowledge while using various educational computer software programs. While more research is ongoing, results to date indicate that, when used in connection with traditional teaching methods, computer software programs can definitely help certain children with autism learn basic skills.

One of the first research studies in this area involved evaluating four children with autism who had severe language and social deficits. The authors compared three different instructional techniques: learning on the computer only, learning on the computer with assistance from the teacher, and learning with teacher alone without the aid of a computer.

Analysis of the data showed that the children did not acquire or maintain the matching-to-sample tasks while using the computer alone. The study also revealed that when the teacher manually operated the computer, the children were able to acquire and maintain the given tasks. When the teacher instructed without the computer, the children were also able to acquire and maintain the tasks.

A second study at the German Research Foundation (DFG) looked at 12 children with autism within the context of video-taped evaluations. The authors studied perception, motivation, communication, and behavior of the children as they engaged in computer-assisted learning. 

The study determined that the students showed higher rates of enthusiasm in computer sessions than in their personal instruction sessions. Single case-studies also demonstrated that CAI had a positive influence with respect to behavior-problems, such as avoidance of eye contact, as well as improved spontaneous communication and academic learning.

The Department of Psychology at the University of Cadiz in Puerto Real-Cadiz, Spain, conducted a study of 60 special education students (39 boys and 21 girls) in the Cadiz School District. The authors used the software "Let's Play With...,” which follows the Gagne instructional design and applied behavior analysis, to teach the basic concepts of colors, shapes, and body position. The study found statistically significant differences in improvement between the groups taught with and without the computer program.

A 2002 study by the York National Health Service Trust in the United Kingdom, evaluated the development of reading skills in eight 3-year-old to 5-year-old children with autism.  Following a direct observation schedule, the authors monitored and compared autistic behaviors of the children in computer-instructed learning versus book-based learning environments. The study concluded that all of the children spent more time on tasks while on the computer as compared with book learning.

By the end of the study, five of the eight children could reliably identify at least three words, and all of them spent more time on reading material when they accessed it by computer.


Another study at the University of California involved the use of a computer-animated tutor, Baldi, to teach vocabulary and grammar to five children with autism and those with hearing problems. The authors assessed the extent to which introducing a face into the learning process facilitated learning as opposed to using a voice alone.

The study used vocabulary lessons, which included both receptive identification of pictures and the production of spoken words. The children alternated between learning pre-determined sets of words with and without the Baldi face. Results showed that the rate of learning was significantly faster and the retention rate was better when the children learned with the Baldi face. This research indicated that at least some children with autism benefit from the combination of an animated face with voiced instruction when learning new language on a computer program.

Researchers at the Goteborg University in Sweden evaluated the effect of an “Alpha” interactive software computer program for teaching reading and comprehension skills with three groups of children with mental ages 5:8 to 6:9 years – 11 children with autism, 9 children with mixed handicaps, and 10 normal children. All of the children received computer software assistance as a supplement to their regular reading and writing activities. 

Pre- and post-tests demonstrated that when the participants used the software program, the children with autism increased both their word reading and their phonological awareness skills. The children with mixed handicaps also achieved success with the software, but at a lower rate than the children with autism. The normal children increased their scores regardless of the program they used.

In the Goteborg study, analyses of the children’s classroom behavior indicated that the computer software stimulated various verbal expressions among the children with autism and mixed handicap children. The children with autism also showed a significant increase in enjoyment during the learning process. 

The study concluded that intervention with a motivating multimedia program might stimulate reading and communication in children with various developmental disabilities, but that such interventions must be individually based and include both detailed planning and monitoring from teachers, parents, and clinicians in charge.

Following Directions is the first in a line of HearBuilder programs that Super Duper intends to create. By January 2010, it plans to release HearBuilder - Phonological Awareness, a pre-reading program to help children recognize spoken letter sounds and words. Super Duper also has a software program in the works which focuses specifically on improving various listening skills.

For more information regarding HearBuilder - Following Directions, go to www.hearbuilder.com. To learn more about special needs materials available for children with autism, go to www.superduperinc.com.

Excellent resources for more information on research regarding children with autism and the use of computer software programs are available at: http://www.asatonline.org/resources/procedures/computer.htm and http://web.teachtown.com/?section=research.

—Thomas Webber is Chairman-CEO and co-owner of Super Duper® Publications, and is the author of several educational workbooks, card decks, and games. Webber edits and oversees the creation of all special needs materials at Super Duper. Questions and comments can be directed to editorial@therapytimes.com.