Training children with autism spectrum disorder to undergo oral assessment using a digital iPad® application

• Published in: European archives of paediatric dentistry Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 113 - 121
• Main Authors: Lefer, G., Rouches, A., Bourdon, P., Lopez Cazaux, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2019; Springer Nature B.V; Springer
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Dental Anxiety - prevention & control; Dental Care; Dentistry; Education; Experiments; Families & family life; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Longitudinal studies; Medicine; Mouth; Original Scientific Article; Parents; Pictographs; Schedules; Self destructive behavior; Statistical analysis; Training; Young Adult; Autism; Training program; Dental examination; iPad; Oral health
• ISSN: 1818-6300; 1996-9805
• DOI: 10.1007/s40368-018-0398-9

Aim To present a training programme for teaching children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to be compliant with a dental examination. Methods Fifty-two children and adolescents with ASD (age range 3–19 years) with a parent-signed consent form were enrolled. Dental examinations were performed once a month in education centres by a paediatric dentist using a visual activity schedule on an iPad ® that was created with a digital application, çATED. Achievement and anxiety were evaluated using scales and grids every 2 months for 8 months. Results Showed an improvement in oral assessment; the children became compliant and less anxious. The percentage of individuals who underwent the entire dental exam process increased over time; it was 25% at the beginning of the study and 65.4% after 8 months. Only 7.7% of the sample was not anxious at the beginning, while 59.6% of the sample was not anxious after 8 months. Wilcoxon analysis also showed significant improvement in the studied variables. Conclusions Training children and adolescents with ASD to undergo dental examination was efficient. The use of the iPad ® is attractive and easy for practitioners and people with ASD.