Social Skills Intervention For Adolescents Research Articles

Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Italy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Social Skills Intervention for Autistic Adolescents.

The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is an intervention targeting social skills for autistic adolescents and those with other social challenges. The efficacy of the PEERS® on adolescents has been extensively explored but the program has not been validated in Italy. In the present study, we adapted PEERS® to Italian culture and evaluated its efficacy in an Italian sample. A Randomized Controlled Trial was conducted, analyzing the results of 37 autistic adolescents who were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group (TG) and waitlist group (WL). The primary outcomes (social abilities) and secondary outcomes (co-occurring conditions, executive functions) were assessed at four time points. No differences were found at pre-treatment between groups on baseline measures and primary outcomes. At post-treatment, significant group differences emerged in primary outcomes (social knowledge and social performance) and secondary outcomes (emotion regulation). The groups' results pooled together (TG + WL) confirmed the findings at post-treatment and showed further changes in primary outcomes (global social competence and social cognition) and secondary outcomes (externalizing problems, emotive and behavioral total problems, functional problems related to depressive symptoms). The improvements were maintained at a 3-month follow-up, except for global social competence and social cognition. Additionally, new results emerged regarding internalizing problems and global executive functioning. The efficacy of the Italian version of PEERS® was ascertained on primary and secondary outcomes. Innovative findings on emotion regulation, behavioral problems, and depression symptoms also emerged.Clinical trial registration information Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Italy. An RCT's Study on Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov . TRN: NCT05473104. Release Date: July 21, 2022.

Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Technology-Based Social Skills Interventions for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Perspectives.

Interest continues to be high in technology-based interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Understanding the preferences and challenges of technology use among individuals with ASD can inform the design of such interventions. Through 18 interviews with parents, we used an iterative inductive-deductive approach to qualitative analysis and explored uses of technology for social skills development among adolescents with ASD. Our findings include parents’ observations about their adolescent’s preferences in types of technology devices and digital content, as well as both positive and negative effects of technology use on mood and behavior. Parents highlighted several avenues of technological preferences and risks that may inform intervention design, enhance user engagement, and capitalize on users’ strengths while buttressing areas for growth.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10803-021-05315-y.

Lego Therapy: Building social skills for adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder

Aim:This research aimed to explore the impact of school-based Lego Therapy groups for adolescents with a diagnosis of ASD in mainstream schools.Method/Rationale:School staff were trained in the delivery of the social skills intervention to groups comprising one adolescent with ASD and two typically developing peers. A non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design was employed to examine the impact of the intervention for six adolescent males with ASD.Findings:Visual analysis, PAND effect sizes and Tau-U statistical analyses demonstrated the large positive impact of the intervention on duration of social engagement and frequency of social initiations, responses and positive social behaviours for five out of six participants. The final participant withdrew from the research. Parents and teachers saw some evidence of generalisation of skill to home and other aspects of school life but this was not consistent for all participants. Fidelity of implementation was maintained, suggesting the approach is appropriate for delivery in school settings by school staff.Conclusion:The results of this study suggest that Lego Therapy groups can be an effective school-based social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD.Limitations:This research was limited by the small sample size. Future research should extend the evidence-base of Lego-based social skill groups, examining the impact of the intervention for a wider range of students with differing needs.

Brief Report: Reductions in Parenting Stress in the Context of PEERS-A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Social skills intervention is an evidence-based practice for enhancing communication and interpersonal skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participation in the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), a manualized social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD, is associated with improved social skills and peer interactions, as well as decreased autism symptoms. Participation in PEERS® has also been linked to increased parent self-efficacy and decreased family chaos. The present study examined parenting stress in the context of PEERS®. Following participation in PEERS®, parents reported lower levels of parenting stress associated with adolescent mood and social isolation. These findings provide further evidence of the family-wide benefits of adolescent-focused social skills intervention.

Brief Report: Effectiveness of an Accelerated Version of the PEERS® Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents.

Evidence supporting the effectiveness of the PEERS® social skills intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder is relatively strong. Less is known about whether the duration of the program impacts participant outcomes. The current study compared outcomes of participants randomly assigned to participate in an accelerated version of PEERS that met twice weekly for 7weeks (n = 11) or the traditional PEERS program that met once weekly for 14weeks (n = 10). The accelerated PEERS group demonstrated improvements consistent with previous research on the program, and treatment response did not differ significantly between the accelerated PEERS and traditional PEERS groups. Together, findings provide preliminary evidence that PEERS is effective when administered as a 7-week program.

Getting good at small talk: student-directed learning of social conversation skills

For students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), learning social skills is an intricate but essential task to facilitate social inclusion and participation. Limited research is available on social skills interventions for adolescents with ASD and intellectual disabilities (ID). This article presents a case study that illustrates how the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction was used to improve self-chosen social conversation skills in a Norwegian 14-year old student with ASD and mild ID. This case study illustrates that, also for students with ASD and ID, giving them the opportunity to set personally relevant goals may improve their autonomous motivation, thereby increasing the likelihood of goal attainment.

Parent and Family Outcomes of PEERS: A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with increased family chaos and parent distress. Successful long-term treatment outcomes are dependent on healthy systemic functioning, but the family impact of treatment is rarely evaluated. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) is a social skills intervention designed for adolescents with high-functioning ASD. This study assessed the impact of PEERS on family chaos, parenting stress, and parenting self-efficacy via a randomized, controlled trial. Results suggested beneficial effects for the experimental group in the domain of family chaos compared to the waitlist control, while parents in the PEERS experimental group also demonstrated increased parenting self-efficacy. These findings highlight adjunctive family system benefits of PEERS intervention and suggest the need for overall better understanding of parent and family outcomes of ASD interventions.

Social Skill Group Interventions for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a Systematic Review

This article reviews the available literature on group-based social skills interventions for adolescents with autism. Forty-four studies were identified that were published in peer-reviewed journals. While each identified treatment utilized a group format, there was significant heterogeneity among the implemented procedures and evaluative methods. Studies were compared on a number of dimensions, and trends in the field were identified. The findings suggest that there is significant evidence for the usefulness of social skills groups as an intervention for adolescents with autism, and the evidence base is rapidly growing. In addition to a summary of the existing literature, recommendations for areas of future research are identified.

A Replication and Extension of the PEERS Intervention: Examining Effects on Social Skills and Social Anxiety in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study aimed to evaluate the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS: Laugeson et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 39(4):596-606, 2009). PEERS focuses on improving friendship quality and social skills among adolescents with higher-functioning ASD. 58 participants aged 11-16 years-old were randomly assigned to either an immediate treatment or waitlist comparison group. Results revealed, in comparison to the waitlist group, that the experimental treatment group significantly improved their knowledge of PEERS concepts and friendship skills, increased in their amount of get-togethers, and decreased in their levels of social anxiety, core autistic symptoms, and problem behaviors from pre-to post-PEERS. This study provides the first independent replication and extension of the empirically-supported PEERS social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD.

Group-based social skills interventions for adolescents with higher-functioning autism spectrum disorder: a review and looking to the future

In this paper, we synthesize the current literature on group-based social skills interventions (GSSIs) for adolescents (ages 10–20 years) with higher-functioning autism spectrum disorder and identify key concepts that should be addressed in future research on GSSIs. We consider the research participants, the intervention, the assessment of the intervention, and the research methodology and results to be integral and interconnected components of the GSSI literature, and we review each of these components respectively. Participant characteristics (eg, age, IQ, sex) and intervention characteristics (eg, targeted social skills, teaching strategies, duration and intensity) vary considerably across GSSIs; future research should evaluate whether participant and intervention characteristics mediate/moderate intervention efficacy. Multiple assessments (eg, parent-report, child-report, social cognitive assessments) are used to evaluate the efficacy of GSSIs; future research should be aware of the limitations of current measurement approaches and employ more accurate, sensitive, and comprehensive measurement approaches. Results of GSSIs are largely inconclusive, with few consistent findings across studies (eg, high parent and child satisfaction with the intervention); future research should employ more rigorous methodological standards for evaluating efficacy. A better understanding of these components in the current GSSI literature and a more sophisticated and rigorous analysis of these components in future research will lend clarity to key questions regarding the efficacy of GSSIs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Two case study evaluations of an arts-based social skills intervention for adolescents with childhood brain disorder

Objective: Arts-based programmes have been shown to be useful for individuals with disturbances in cognitive and behavioural functioning. The current case studies examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a theatre skills training programme to facilitate social skills and participation for adolescents with childhood brain disorder.Methods: A case study approach was used with two adolescent participants. Focus groups were conducted immediately post-intervention, while a battery of quantitative measures were administered pre- and post-treatment, as well as 8 months post-treatment.Results: Perceived and documented improvements in social skills and participation were observed from pre- to post-intervention and at follow-up.Conclusion: Results support the use of an arts-based intervention for youth with brain injuries to facilitate social skills and participation. Findings also highlight the need for more sensitive measures of these skills for youth with childhood brain disorder, who may have impaired awareness of their abilities and/or impairments in memory and language comprehension.

The Effect of a motor‐based, social skills intervention for adolescents with high‐functioning autism: two single‐subject design cases

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a motor-based, social skills intervention for two adolescents with high-functioning autism (HFA) using single-subject design. A description of the intervention is provided as a first step in the manualization process. The intervention was provided as a 7-week after-school program, once weekly to the paired participants. Intervention consisted of role-play methods in which motor behaviours were linked with their cognitive and emotional meanings. Baseline, intervention and 3-month probe data collection periods were carried out and then compared using visual inspection of graphed data, paired t-tests and a three-standard-deviation-band approach. Both participants displayed a statistically significant increase in targeted social skills behaviours from baseline to intervention and maintained this level at a 3-month post-intervention probe. These single-subject design cases illustrate that motor-based, social skills interventions may be effective for adolescents with HFA and warrant further testing.

Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents With TBI

Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents With TBI

Pragmatic Communication Disorders: New Intervention Approaches

Pragmatic Communication Disorders: New Intervention Approaches