{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T18:10:24Z","timestamp":1784052624237,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social communication challenges, including difficulties interpreting figurative language, understanding conversational context, and expressing thoughts clearly. This feasibility study examined an NLP-based communication assistance tool for adolescents and young adults with ASD. The tool combined sentiment analysis, intent identification, and situational simplification to provide real-time feedback in digital communication.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n Participants were 16 individuals with ASD (aged 15\u201328 years) and 16 neurotypical conversation partners in a within-subjects, mixed-methods design. The intervention lasted eight weeks. The tool was used in both structured tasks and naturalistic conversations.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n Preliminary data suggest associations between tool use and improved outcomes. Communication clarity increased from 3.12 to 3.89 (d\u2009=\u20090.74, 95% CI [0.28, 1.20], p\u2009<\u20090.001 after Bonferroni correction). Anxiety decreased by 2.3 points on a 7-point scale (d\u2009=\u20091.21, 95% CI [0.62, 1.80], p\u2009<\u20090.001). Confidence scores improved by 42% from baseline (d\u2009=\u20091.15, 95% CI [0.56, 1.74], p\u2009<\u20090.001). Qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; inter-coder reliability, \u03ba\u2009=\u20090.81) identified five themes: reduced communication burden, learning through use, empowerment and autonomy, context-specific value, and desire for customization. These preliminary findings suggest that NLP-driven assistive technologies warrant further investigation in controlled trials.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n This study demonstrates feasibility and provides preliminary evidence for NLP-based communication support, though causal conclusions cannot be drawn due to the absence of a control group, small sample size (N\u2009=\u200916), and short duration.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0352505","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T17:33:09Z","timestamp":1784050389000},"page":"e0352505","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Using natural language processing to support digital communication in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum 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