Using Story-Based Thinking Maps to Enhance Metaphor Comprehension Skills in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Metaphor comprehension is a critical yet challenging skill for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly in understanding psychological related metaphors. This study aims to address this gap by employing story-based thinking maps intervention to enhance comprehension of both physical and psychological related metaphors in children with ASD.

Three children with ASD (aged 5–8) participated in this study. A concurrent multiple-probe design across two behaviors (physical and psychological related metaphors) and three participants was used, with baseline, intervention, follow-up, and generalization phases. Intervention involved identifying metaphor elements, shared features, and meanings.

The results indicated that all participants demonstrated low accuracy during the baseline phase but exhibited similar patterns of improvement during the intervention phase and achieved 100% accuracy. High accuracy rates were maintained during the follow-up and generalization phases.

The findings suggest that the story-based thinking maps intervention is effective in enhancing metaphor comprehension skills in children with ASD. This study provides valuable insights for designing interventions targeting metaphor comprehension in this population.