ABSTRACT
This study seeks to examine the predictors of positive social skills outcomes from the University of California, Los Angeles Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills, an evidence-based parent-assisted social skills program for high-functioning middle school and high school adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The results revealed that adolescents with higher parent-reported baseline social skills and lower self-reported perceived social functioning demonstrated greater improvement in social skills following the intervention.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/rehabilitation , Interpersonal Relations , Program Evaluation/methods , Social Skills , Adolescent , Child , Female , Friends/psychology , Humans , Los Angeles , Male , Parents/psychology , Program Evaluation/statistics & numerical data , Self Concept , Surveys and Questionnaires , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The present study examines the efficacy and durability of the PEERS Program, a parent-assisted social skills group intervention for high-functioning adolescents with ASD. Results indicate that teens receiving PEERS significantly improved their social skills knowledge, social responsiveness, and overall social skills in the areas of social communication, social cognition, social awareness, social motivation, assertion, cooperation, and responsibility, while decreasing autistic mannerisms and increasing the frequency of peer interactions. Independent teacher ratings revealed significant improvement in social skills and assertion from pre-test to follow-up assessment. Examination of durability of improvement revealed maintenance of gains in nearly all domains with additional treatment gains at a 14-week follow-up assessment.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/therapy , Interpersonal Relations , Social Adjustment , Adolescent , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Evidence-Based Practice , Female , Humans , Intelligence , Male , Peer Group , Psychotherapy, Group/methods , Social Behavior , Surveys and Questionnaires , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
This study examines the efficacy of a manualized parent-assisted social skills intervention in comparison with a matched Delayed Treatment Control group to improve friendship quality and social skills among teens 13-17 years of age with autism spectrum disorders. Targeted skills included conversational skills, peer entry and exiting skills, developing friendship networks, good sportsmanship, good host behavior during get-togethers, changing bad reputations, and handling teasing, bullying, and arguments. Results revealed, in comparison with the control group, that the treatment group significantly improved their knowledge of social skills, increased frequency of hosted get-togethers, and improved overall social skills as reported by parents. Possibly due to poor return rate of questionnaires, social skills improvement reported by teachers was not significant. Future research should provide follow-up data to test the durability of treatment.
