Abstract
BackgroundIndividuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts. While social skills group training (SSGT) has shown moderate effects on various sociability outcomes in ASD, there is a need for (1) replication of effects in additional clinical and cultural contexts, (2) designs that employ active control groups, (3) calculation of health economic benefits, (4) identification of the optimal training duration, and (5) measurement of individual goals and quality of life outcomes.Method/designWith the aim of investigating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a SSGT, KONTAKT©, a two-armed randomized control trial with adolescents aged 12–17 years (N = 90) with ASD and an intelligence quotient (IQ) of over 70 will be undertaken. Following stratification for centre and gender, participants will be randomly assigned to either KONTAKT© or to an active control group, a group-based cooking programme. Participants will attend both programmes in groups of 6–8 adolescents, over 16 one-and-a-half-hour sessions. The primary outcome examined is adolescent self-rated achievement of personally meaningful social goals as assessed via the Goal Attainment Scaling during an interview with a blinded clinician. Secondary outcomes include adolescent self-reported interpersonal efficacy, quality of life, social anxiety, loneliness, face emotion recognition performance and associated gaze behaviour, and parent proxy reports of autistic traits, quality of life, social functioning, and emotion recognition and expression. Cost-effectiveness will be investigated in relation to direct and indirect societal and healthcare costs.DiscussionThe primary outcomes of this study will be evidenced in the anticipated achievement of adolescents’ personally meaningful social goals following participation in KONTAKT© as compared to the active control group. This design will enable rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of KONTAKT©, exercising control over the possibly confounding effect of exposure to a social context of peers with a diagnosis of ASD.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). ACTRN12617001117303. Registered on 31 July 2017. anzctr.org.auClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03294668. Registered on 22 September 2017. https://clinicaltrials.gov
Highlights
Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts
The rising diagnostic trends for ASD among children over recent decades have seen an unprecedented number of adolescents with ASD, resulting in an urgent need for evidence-based interventions aimed at improving outcomes for these young people [4]
While impairments in daily functioning are central to a diagnosis of ASD [1], in adolescence it can have the complication of hampering the transition to adulthood, reducing adolescents’ desire for independent living and limiting education and employment outcomes [10, 11]
Summary
Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts. While social skills group training (SSGT) has shown moderate effects on various sociability outcomes in ASD, there is a need for (1) replication of effects in additional clinical and cultural contexts, (2) designs that employ active control groups, (3) calculation of health economic benefits, (4) identification of the optimal training duration, and (5) measurement of individual goals and quality of life outcomes. Hallmark features of ASD include persisting challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts, and restricted repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities, leading to qualitative impairment in significant areas of life [1, 2]. Most individuals with ASD might accurately perceive their level of social interaction and communication abilities and their limitations in networking with their peers [7]. The cumulative impact of these experiences is evident in the poor quality of life outcomes observed during this period [12]
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