Systematic review of assistive technology-based instruction for postsecondary students with developmental disabilities

The purpose of this thesis is to determine assistive technology-based instructions in the area of Living for postsecondary education students with autism spectrum disorder and/ or intellectual and developmental disabilities for investigating the types of AT support in improving independent living skills. An electronic search was conducted using the following databases: ERIC (Education Source version), ERIC (EBSCO host version), ERIC (ProQuest version), PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Seven peer-reviewed journals were searched between 2008 and 2018. The references identified and relevant articles were scanned to find additional relevant literature. Papers referring to an assistive-technology based intervention that targets the area of independent living and be taught within the postsecondary program were included. Participants were diagnosed with ASD and/ or IDD and were enrolled in a postsecondary program designed for individuals with developmental disabilities. Only single-case studies or experimental/quasi- experimental designed studies were included. A total of 155 articles were found. The references and abstracts were saved in Endnote reference manager software for the selection process. First, 19 duplicates were found and excluded. A selection process was then carried out with the remaining 136 articles. The articles were screened by title and abstract, and 32 articles were excluded. Subsequently, full-text screening was conducted, and eight peer-reviewed articles and two dissertations were left. To conclude, the types of assistive technology while teaching independent living skills to postsecondary students with disabilities were reported. The skills were taught by using assistive technology were diverse. Results indicated the positive effectiveness of using assistive technology-based instructional practices in teaching independent living skills.