Using Intersensory Translation to Enhance Social-Emotional Literacy of Children with Autism

Storytelling for neurodiverse children, particularly children on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is critically important. Not only because it helps them to bridge between their inner world and the outer world in which they live, but, most importantly, because it helps them develop language skills and build social-emotional literacy, among others. However, rarely do we find picture books, if any, to meet the specific needs of these children. Out of the belief that positive outcomes are achievable through storytelling, I embarked on the mission of transadapting the picture book Calm-Down Time by Elizabeth Verdick. This book provides young children with coping skills to handle emotions with confidence and cooperation. The prototyping effort entailed developing a multimodal digital storytelling experience that could enhance the social-emotional literacy of ASD children. The outcome, which may be seen as a call for action, is an interactive digital picture book in a video format.