"I like talking to people on the computer": Outcomes of a home-based intervention to develop social media skills in youth with disabilities living in rural communities.
Home BST plus tablets grows online friends for rural youth with disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nine rural teens with mixed disabilities got weekly home visits.
A coach brought tablets, speech apps, and personalized goals.
Parents joined to learn safe social media use.
Sessions lasted six weeks.
What they found
After coaching, teens posted more, felt happier online, and gained new internet friends.
Parents said they now knew how to block risks.
How this fits with other research
Dunlap et al. (1991) saw the same lift when kids first mastered computer games, then played with peers.
Nakamura et al. (1986) used the same BST steps to teach phone chats to lonely nursing-home adults.
Davison et al. (1984) found board-game BST taught work talk, but skills moved to real jobs only half the time. Parimala’s home setting may explain why online gains held.
Why it matters
If you serve rural youth with limited rides, bring the social-skills lab to them. Pack a tablet, model each click, rehearse, and give live feedback. Loop parents in for cyber-safety. One six-week round can widen the teen’s social circle far beyond the county line.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness of a home-based social media use intervention to enhance the social networks of rural youth with disabilities. METHOD: Participants were nine youth (mean age = 17.0 years) with disabilities from two rural Australian communities. The intervention consisted of providing appropriate assistive technology and social media training on individualised goals. Using mixed methods, quantitative (a single group pre-post) and qualitative (interviews with participants and their carers) measures were used to examine outcomes of training, individual experiences of the intervention, and changes to online social networks. RESULTS: Participants increased their performance and satisfaction with performance on social media problem areas post-intervention; paired t-tests showed statistical significance at p < .001. There was also a significant increase in the number of online communication partners; Wilcoxon Signed Ranks showed statistical significance at p < .05. The interviews highlighted increased social participation, independence and improvements to literacy. Ongoing parental concerns regarding cyber safety and inappropriate online content were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that social media training is a feasible method for increasing social networks among rural-based youth with disabilities. To sustain ongoing benefits, parents need knowledge and training in integrating assistive technology and social media.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.02.012