Development and evaluation of a digistory about autistic spectrum disorder – a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Background: Digital storytelling (‘digistories’) offers a way of sharing the personal impact of a condition, if students have limited direct contact. Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) exemplifies a common condition, where there is need to improve practise in primary care. Hence, we chose this condition to develop and evaluate a digistory. We considered stigmatising attitudes to ASD and wider educational effects. Methods: In the digistory, a mother of a boy with severe ASD describes her autobiographical experiences, illustrated by customised cartoons. Participants completed, pre-post, a validated attitude questionnaire and word association exercise. Views on educational value were gathered through free text and focus group. Results: Questionnaire scores indicated positive attitudes, with no significant change. In contrast, content analysis of word association responses showed prevalent negative associations. Thematic analysis identified increased empathy of students with the family, enabled by the resource design. The digistory helped students challenge stereotypes associated with the condition and encouraged greater confidence to engage in future clinical encounters. Conclusion: The digistory is an accessible and authentic patient analogue that gives additional insight into living with autistic spectrum disorder, with potential benefits for patient-centred learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Digistory
• undergraduate
• medical education
• autistic spectrum disorder
• patient-centredness

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all students who participated in the study and the members of the Medical Education Research Student Advisory Group for their valuable guidance on study conduct and comments on findings. Also to Dr. David Kennedy, Degree Programme Director, who facilitated data collection across the regional medical school and in particular to ‘Sam’, who gave freely of her time to share her story and that of her little boy.