Improving Social Communication in Individuals With ASD Using AI

Inclusion Criteria:

* Primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
* Age of adolescents and adults: between 11-35 years
* Age of minimally verbal children: between 3-5 years
* Ability to engage in social conversation using full sentences for a 20-minute period (adolescents and adults)
* Verbal communication difficulties in an individual targeted area (e.g., empathy) as measured on the communication sample

Participants with a co-occuring diagnosis of ADHD, depression, or social anxiety will not be excluded since these are very common in this population and are often related to or a bi-product of difficulties with social communication.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Non-documented or self-diagnosis of ASD
* At or above 60% correct responding on targeted area of social conversation during conversation probe (adolescents and adults)
* No significant language delay (young children)
* No access to phone or computer for intervention sessions
* Inability to carry on a conversation during the conversation probe
* Apparent intellectual impairment that interferes with the ability to carry on a conversation (e.g., responds only in single words or does not respond to conversation, lack of understanding of questions or content during conversation probe)
* Non-English speaking
* Serious medical or psychiatric issues that may interfere with conversation or the ability to complete the program
* Lack of interest in participating.