Teacher Perceptions on the Use of Digital Storytelling Among Autism Spectrum Disorder Children in Malaysia

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be categorized according to neurodevelopmental disorder outlined by deficits in social, communicative and psychological feature skills. In Malaysia, ASD cases have redoubled within the previous years as proved by the amount of cases seeking medical attention. Providing effective and appropriate services for children with ASD requires educators to be knowledgeable regarding the methods of implementation, the rationale and the impact of the intervention strategies. This research is a case study on the use of digital storytelling through Pixton to explore the teacher perceptions of the exposure of digital storytelling towards children with ASD. The methodology employed includes pre and post interviews with 4 teachers who have at least (3) years of experience with children with ASD. Digital storytelling sessions were also observed using video recording to capture the interactions of the participants. The study revealed that the participants provide positive views related to the communication and social skills obtained from the digital storytelling sessions. Combined with multimedia elements, digital storytelling encouraged the children with ASD to be more interested focus on learning. Overall, the study established that the teachers' perceptions are positive towards the use of digital storytelling as an alternative method to the teaching and learning process for the children with ASD. It is envisaged that this study could support teachers in the teaching and learning process in the future by providing effective intervention which can further intensify teaching strategies for children with ASD.