Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) per DSM-5 criteria are characteristically limited in their ability to interact socially due to conversational speech delays. Typically, children with ASD experience a more constrained number of appropriate initiations and responses in conversations with peers. Previous research has shown the benefits of using scripted language to increase verbalizations in these children. However, limited research has been conducted on the use of technology to increase social interactions between children with ASD. This study will be based on hypotheses and results from the dissertation, “Teaching Conversational Speech to Children with Autism Using a Text Message Intervention” by Denise Grosberg. Grosberg evaluated the performance of a text message intervention (TMI) procedure using scripted language to teach conversational speech with typically developing peers. The present study used a multiple baseline design across dyads to again assess the efficacy of a text message intervention between dyads of children with ASD, including younger and lower-functioning participants. Results demonstrated an increase in appropriate conversational speech through the TMI and an increase in unscripted language following the intervention. Seven of the participants generalized the behavior across peers and settings as well as after a two-week follow-up period. Data are discussed in terms of the percentage of appropriate phrases used, as a function of appropriate phrases, inappropriate phrases, and the number of times a participant did not respond.

När socialtjänsten har beslutat om att ett barn behöver placeras i familjehem måste barnet få åldersadekvat information. Att förmedla information till små barn är en utmaning som ställer krav på samtalsledarens förmåga att kommunicera så att barnet förstår. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare och familjebehandlare beskriver att de förmedlar beslut om placering i familjehem till barn i förskoleålder. Sju intervjuer med anställda inom socialtjänsten har genomförts. Resultaten har analyserats utifrån salutogen teori med en utvecklingsekologisk referensram. Resultatet visar att informanterna upplever det som hjälpsamt att använda lekmaterial som hjälpmedel för att ge barnet en konkret bild av vad som kommer att hända vid placeringen. Informationen som förmedlas är situationsbunden och individuell. Informanterna belyser även att de anser det som viktigt att vara lyhörd för barnets behov för att kunna välja rätt information att trygga barnet med och på så sätt se till att det blir barnets samtal. I uppsatsens diskussionskapitel behandlas studiens oväntade fynd och förslag på fortsatt forskning. / “The conversation should be child-centred.” A qualitative study of social services informative conversations with children regarding family based foster care placements.   When placed in family based foster care, all children have legal rights to participation and to get age-appropriate information from the social services. Communicating information to young children is a challenge, and the purpose of this study was to examine how social workers and family therapists describe the procedure of informing preschoolers about placement in family based foster care. Seven interviews were conducted with employees in the social services. A salutogenic theory and a frame of reference based on the ecological systems theory of development were used to analyze the results. The results show that employees in the social services described it as helpful to use child-centred methods and to communicate with the children through play to visualise the placement and that the information provided is situational and individual. The informants highlighted the importance of being responsive to the child's needs in the very moment to choose what details to inform about, and that the child has to feel safe and the conversation needs to be child-centred.