Examining the Effects of a Knowledge-Based Intervention about Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Knowledge, Empathy, and Conative Attitudes of Typically Developing Students

Abstract

Few studies to date have attempted to improve the social standing of students with ASD by designing interventions that affect the perceptions of typically developing peers. The purpose of this study was to determine if a brief, knowledge-based intervention about Autism Spectrum Disorder improved typically developing students’ general empathy, knowledge of ASD, and conative attitudes toward peers with ASD. Forty 6th-grade students from two charter schools formed the waitlist control and experimental groups. Measures of knowledge, empathy, and conative attitudes were administered pre-test, posttest, and post-posttest. Post-intervention, the means of the three questionnaires for the experimental group were not greater than the waitlist control group. The means of the experimental group did not significantly increase from pre- to posttest; although knowledge of ASD for the experimental group increased, the difference was not significant. Conative attitudes toward peers with ASD decreased significantly for the experimental group. These findings and future implications for research will be discussed.