Social Skills Training For Children Research Articles

School Refusal Behaviour and Social Skills in Children with Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity Disorder

ABSTRACT Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have higher school absenteeism and poorer social skills compared with typically developing children. The objectives of this study were to investigate (1) which forms of school refusal behaviour (SRB) are more common and (2) the relationship between SRB and social skills in children with ADHD. Parents (N = 96) of children with ADHD (M age = 12.4, range 10–15, 61.5% boys) completed the School Refusal Assessment Scale – Revised and the Social Skills Improvement System. Findings were analysed using analysis of variance, correlational analyses, and multiple regression analyses. The most common forms of SRB were avoidance of aversive situations at school and seeking attention from significant others. Significant correlations between different forms of SRB and engagement, autistic traits, cooperation skills, and self-control were found. Less engagement significantly predicted more SRB due to avoidance of aversive situations, avoidance of social situations, and seeking attention from significant others in multiple regression analyses. Targeting social engagement in social skills training for children with ADHD may decrease SRB.

Unlocking Potential: The Development and User-Friendly Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Intervention for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

(1) Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is typically first diagnosed in early childhood. Medication and cognitive behavioural therapy are considered effective in treating children with ADHD, whereas these treatments appear to have some side effects and restrictions. Virtual reality (VR), therefore, has been applied to exposure therapy for mental disorders. Previous studies have adopted VR in the cognitive behavioural treatment for children with ADHD; however, no research has used VR to develop social skills training for children with ADHD. This study aimed to develop a VR-based intervention (Social VR) to improve social skills in children with symptoms of ADHD. Prior to conducting the pilot trial to assess the effectiveness of Social VR, valuable user feedback was gathered regarding the mechanics of Social VR, satisfaction and motion sickness. This study presented the development and preliminary usability of Social VR to enhance social interaction skills among children with ADHD. (2) Methods: The development process of the Social VR intervention was demonstrated. The Social VR intervention consisted of three scenarios, namely MTR, Campus and Market and Restaurant. In the usability study, 25 children with ADHD were recruited to test the Social VR during the preliminary usability stage of a clinical trial at preinclusion. The participants completed a survey about their experience of playing Social VR, satisfaction, and motion sickness. (3) Results: The participants indicated the three conditions had easy-to-follow instructions, were easy to pick up, and that they understood when the situations changed. The control and beauty of the graphics of Market and Restaurant were relatively lower compared with those of MTR and Campus. The three scenarios are applicable to children diagnosed with any subtype of ADHD. (4) Conclusion: The participants were satisfied with Social VR. Social VR was generally considered realistic and immersive. Further trials to assess the feasibility and efficacy were discussed. If proven effective, VR-based intervention can be an adjunctive approach to current multimodal training for children with ADHD.

Effectiveness of Social Virtual Reality Training in Enhancing Social Interaction Skills in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children. Children with ADHD have challenges in understanding social cues and behavioral problems when entering a social setting. Virtual reality (VR) has been applied to improve cognitive behaviors in children with ADHD. Previous studies have not adopted VR to improve social interaction competence and appropriateness in children with ADHD. VR offers a more effective alternative to therapeutic strategies for children with ADHD. This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of social VR training in enhancing social interaction skills compared to traditional social skills training in children with ADHD. We hypothesize that participants in the social VR training group are likely to perform better on social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. In this nonblinded, 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), 90 participants with ADHD recruited from the community will be randomized 1:1:1 to the social VR intervention group, traditional social skills training group, or waitlist control group. The child psychiatrist will conduct assessments for each participant at baseline and after the intervention. The Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent will be used to assess the social interaction skills of the participants before and after the intervention. Participants in the social VR intervention group and traditional social skills training group will receive twelve 20-minute training sessions for 3 weeks. The participants in the waitlist control group will receive no training. The primary outcome measure is training acceptability and compliance. The secondary outcome measures are the child psychiatrist's assessment and the Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent before and after the intervention. Another outcome measure is the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and Attention. Differences in the scale scores will be examined using a t test and an F test. This study is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is anticipated that participants in the social VR intervention group will exhibit superior social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. To our knowledge, this RCT is the first study examining the feasibility and effectiveness of a social VR-based intervention for enhancing the social interaction skills of children with ADHD in Hong Kong. The VR-based social skills training is expected to provide a safer and more effective environment for children with ADHD to learn than the traditional approach. This study can lead to a full-scale RCT. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05778526; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05778526. PRR1-10.2196/48208.

Effects of Adaptive Prompts in Virtual Reality-Based Social Skills Training for Children with Autism.

The purpose of this single-case experimental design (SCED) study is to investigate how adaptive prompts in virtual reality (VR)-based social skills training affect the social skills performance of autistic children. Adaptive prompts are driven by autistic children's emotional states. To integrate adaptive prompts in VR-based training, we conducted speech data mining and endorsed micro-adaptivity design. We recruited four autistic children (12-13years) for the SCED study. We carried out alternating treatments design to evaluate the impacts of adaptive and non-adaptive prompting conditions throughout a series of VR-based social skills training sessions. Using mixed-method data collection and analyses, we found that adaptive prompts can foster autistic children's desirable social skills performance in VR-based training. Based on the study findings, we also describe design implications and limitations for future research.

Is visual gaze in children with autism spectrum disorder related to sequence of emotion intensity presentation? An eye-tracking study of natural emotion perception processes.

Emotion cognitive remediation is a critical component of social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Visual perception of emotions is highly correlated with the intensity and sequence of presented emotions. However, few studies examined the effect of presentation sequence and intensity on emotion perception. The present study examined the gaze patterns of children with ASD in receiving different sequences of emotion presentation using eye-tracking technologies. Gaze patterns of ecologically-valid video clips of silent emotion stimuli by 51 ASD children and 34 typically developing (TD) children were recorded. Results indicated that ASD and TD children showed opposite visual fixation during different intensity presentation modes: children with ASD showed better emotion perception with a weak-to-strong emotion sequence when presented. The visual reductions in emotion perception in children with ASD may due to different perceptual threshold to emotional intensity. The extent of the reductions could be related to an individual's Personal-Social ability. The present study supports the importance of intensity of emotions and the order at which the emotional stimuli were presented in yielding better emotion perceptions in children with ASD, suggesting that the order of emotion presentation may potentially influence emotion processing during ASD rehabilitation. It is anticipated that the present findings could bring more insights to clinicians for intervention planning in the future.

Virtual Reality for Social Skills Training of Children and Adolescents with ASD: A Systematic Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by an inability to identify facial expressions and recognize other people's emotions. Individuals with ASD would struggle to give appropriate answers and have effective communication in social interactions. As a result, children and adolescents with ASD are vulnerable to isolation at school and have fewer opportunities to develop social relationships with peers. Virtual Reality (VR) has been studied and widely used in education for quite a long time. It is evidenced as an effective tool in social skills training for children and adolescents with ASD by improving their emotion recognition ability and social reciprocity. Furthermore, by imitating real-world circumstances, VR can provide repeatable social scenarios for ASD children and adolescents to explore safely. This paper followed PRISMA systematic review design to analyze imperial studies on social skills training for children and adolescents with ASD. A total of 276 participants were analyzed in the five selected articles from two hundred and fifteen records. The result showed that VR was effective and feasible for social skills interventions in all five studies.

Effects of Computer-Assisted Social Skills Training in Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Computer-assisted child-focused interventions are expected to improve efficiency and personalization of therapist-led treatments for children and adolescents. However, therapist-led, outpatient interventions using computer assistance are lacking for children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD). The present randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of individualized computer-assisted social skills training for children with aggressive behavior compared to a resource activation intervention. A total of 100 children aged 6-12 years with a diagnosis of ODD/CD and peer-related aggression were randomly (1:1) assigned to either individually delivered computer-assisted social skills training (ScouT) or an individually delivered supportive resource activation treatment (STARK). The primary outcome was parent-rated peer-related aggression, assessed with the respective scale of the Questionnaire for Aggressive Behavior of Children (FAVK) and measured at pre-assessment and after the 16-week intervention (post-assessment). Further parent-, self-, teacher- and/or clinician-rated outcomes included ODD and CD symptoms, a wide range of behavioral and emotional symptoms, callous-unemotional traits, functional impairment, and quality of life. After correcting for multiple testing, analyses of covariance comparing the efficacy of ScouT to the efficacy of STARK yielded small to moderate treatment effects in favor of the ScouT condition regarding parent-rated peer-related aggression (primary outcome; d=-0.64, 95% CI=-1.05,-0.24), parent-rated callous and uncaring traits, and parent-rated quality of life. However, the analyses did not reveal any significant effects for self- or teacher-rated peer-related aggression assessed with the respective scale of the FAVK (self-report: d=-0.21, 95% CI=-0.69, 0.29; teacher rating: d=-0.17, 95% CI=-0.56, 0.22). Moreover, after controlling for multiple comparisons, no significant effects emerged for the following: parent-, self-, and teacher-rated adult-related aggression; parent-, self-, teacher-, and clinician-rated ODD and CD symptoms; parent-, self-, and teacher-rated emotional and behavioral symptoms; and parent-rated functional impairment. According to parent ratings, school-age children with disruptive behavior disorders and peer-related aggression seem to benefit more from individualized, computer-assisted social skills training than from resource activation treatment. However, this conclusion is limited by the missing effects on the clinician-, self-, and teacher-rated measures. Treatment of Children With Peer Related Aggressive Behavior (ScouT); https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT02143427.

Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: PEERS for Preschoolers

The establishment of reciprocal friendships is a challenge for many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social interaction difficulties emerge early, persist throughout development, and have widespread functional impact. As such, interventions focused on social functioning are needed in early intervention programs. This two-part study evaluated the outcomes of a parent-assisted social skills training (SST) program for young children with ASD. The intervention is a downward extension of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS(R)), which is one of the few evidence-based SST programs for adolescents and young adults with ASD. Modifications included developmentally appropriate social skills, greater parent involvement, and behavioral strategies embedded in play-based activities. Results reveal improvements in parent ratings of social responsiveness, social cognition, and social motivation, as well as decreased (a) restricted/repetitive behaviors and interests and (b) problem behaviors. Results are promising and encourage further evaluation of this SST curriculum.

Development and Application of a Metaverse-Based Social Skills Training Program for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Improve Social Interaction: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by abnormalities in social communication and limited and repetitive behavioral patterns. Children with ASD who lack social communication skills will eventually not interact with others and will lack peer relationships when compared to ordinary people. Thus, it is necessary to develop a program to improve social communication abilities using digital technology in people with ASD.ObjectiveWe intend to develop and apply a metaverse-based child social skills training program aimed at improving the social interaction abilities of children with ASD aged 7-12 years. We plan to compare and analyze the biometric information collected through wearable devices when applying the metaverse-based social skills training program to evaluate emotional changes in children with ASD in stressful situations.MethodsThis parallel randomized controlled study will be conducted on children aged 7-12 years diagnosed with ASD. A metaverse-based social skills training program using digital technology will be administered to children who voluntarily wish to participate in the research with consent from their legal guardians. The treatment group will participate in the metaverse-based social skills training program developed by this research team once a week for 60 minutes per session for 4 weeks. The control group will not intervene during the experiment. The treatment group will use wearable devices during the experiment to collect real-time biometric information.ResultsThe study is expected to recruit and enroll participants in March 2022. After registering the participants, the study will be conducted from March 2022 to May 2022. This research will be jointly conducted by Yonsei University and Dobrain Co Ltd. Children participating in the program will use the internet-based platform.ConclusionsThe metaverse-based Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) will be effective in improving the social skills of children with ASD, similar to the offline PEERS program. The metaverse-based PEERS program offers excellent accessibility and is inexpensive because it can be administered at home; thus, it is expected to be effective in many children with ASD. If a method can be applied to detect children's emotional changes early using biometric information collected through wearable devices, then emotional changes such as anxiety and anger can be alleviated in advance, thus reducing issues in children with ASD.Trial RegistrationClinical Research Information Service KCT0006859; https://tinyurl.com/4r3k7cmjInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/35960

The Effect of Training Health Care Providers Using Gamification Method on Social Skills of Preschool Children

Background: Preschool is one of the most important ages in learning and developing social skills in children. One of the most important issues in the education of healthcare providers is to improve their knowledge about children's social skills because healthcare providers, as an important part of a health team, are at the forefront of communication with families. Objectives: This study was done to investigate the effect of education to health care providers with the gamification method on the social skills of preschool children. Methods: In the present quasi-experimental study, 71 female healthcare providers working in selected collective health centers in Shiraz, Iran, were included in the study. The educational content of this study was an educational software as question games based on gamification, which was provided to healthcare providers. Data collection tools were two questionnaires, including a demographic information questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire on social skills in preschool children. To analyze data, the effectiveness of the intervention was measured using Wilks' lambda multivariate test. The relationship between knowledge score and participants' demographic variables was assessed by the linear regression analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22). Results: There was an increase in the knowledge of healthcare providers at three-time points, including before, immediately after, and one month after the educational intervention. Significant relationships were also observed between mean knowledge scores of the participants in all components of the questionnaire before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention (P < 0.001), with significant increases in mean post-intervention scores. The knowledge scores at three-time points, before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention, had significant associations with the educational level of participants (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Increasing the awareness of health care providers through the gamification method showed that this method has an important role in implementing social skills training for children.

Virtual Reality–Based Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

In this study, the researchers explored the usage of a virtual reality (VR)–based social skills learning environment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using OpenSimulator, the researchers constructed a desktop VR-based learning environment that supports social-oriented role-play, gaming, and design by children with ASD. Seven 10–14 years old children with ASD participated in this VR-based social skills program for 20+ hr on average. Data were collected via screen recording and observation of play- and design-oriented social skills enactment and pre- and postintervention Social Communication and Skills Questionnaires. Participants demonstrated an increased level of successful social skills performance from the baseline to the intervention phase. The findings provided preliminary evidence for the usage of a VR-based social skills learning environment for children with ASD.

Design of a Digital Comic Creator (It's Me) to Facilitate Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Design Research Approach.

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face difficulties in social situations and are often lagging in terms of social skills. Many interventions designed for children with ASD emphasize improving social skills. Although many interventions demonstrate that targeted social skills can be improved in clinical settings, developed social skills are not necessarily applied in children's daily lives at school, sometimes because classmates continue to show negative bias toward children with ASD. Children with ASD do not blame the difficult social situations they encounter on their lack of social skills; their main goal is to be accepted by peers.ObjectiveThis study aims to design a comic creator—It's me—that would create comics to serve as transformational boundary objects to facilitate and enact a horizontal interaction structure between high-functioning children with ASD and their peers, aiming to increase mutual understanding between children at school.MethodsThis research project and this study are structured around the Design Research Framework in order to develop the comic through an iterative-incremental process. Three test sessions, which included 13, 6, and 47 children, respectively, were initiated where the focus shifted in time from usability during the first two tests to the initial assessment of acceptance and feasibility in the third session. A stakeholder review, which included six experts, took place after the second test session.ResultsA digital comic creator, It's me, was produced within this study. Children can create their own personal comic by filling in a digital questionnaire. Based on concepts of peer support, psychoeducation, and horizontal interaction, It's me has a rigorous base of underlying concepts that have been translated into design. Based on the first test sessions, the comic has shown its potential to initiate personal conversations between children. Teachers are convinced that It's me can be of added value in their classrooms.ConclusionsIt's me aims to initiate more in-depth conversations between peers, which should lead to more mutual understanding and better relationships between children with ASD and their peers. The first test sessions showed that It's me has the potential to enact horizontal interaction and greater understanding among peers. It's me was designed as a boundary object, aiming to connect the objectives of different stakeholders, and to trigger reflection and transformation learning mechanisms. The applied design research approach might be of added value in the acceptance and adoption of the intervention because children, professionals, and teachers see added value in the tool, each from their own perspectives.

What are the benefits and harms of social skills training for children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years with ADHD?

What are the benefits and harms of social skills training for children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years with ADHD?

Efficacy of an Individualized Computer-Assisted Social Competence Training Program for Children With Oppositional Defiant Disorders/Conduct Disorders.

Group-based child-centered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with aggressive behavior has been found to significantly reduce child behavior problems. Nevertheless, most children suffer from residual symptoms at the end of treatment. Therefore, individualized interventions that treat the specific problem-maintaining factors and that use digital support may enhance treatment effects. However, enhanced computer-facilitated interventions have not been examined in clinical samples. Therefore, we tested the efficacy of an individualized computer-facilitated social skills training for children with clinically referred aggressive behavior problems. Fifty children aged 6–12 years with peer-related aggressive behavior problems were included in a within-subject design with two phases (waiting, treatment). The course of the outcome measures during an 8-week waiting phase was compared with that in the subsequent treatment phase (16 weekly child sessions and 2 parent psychoeducation contacts at the beginning of the treatment) using multilevel modeling. The primary outcome was peer-related aggressive behavior rated by parents. Further outcome measures included parent ratings and patient self-reports of aggressive and prosocial behavior. No significant changes occurred for any of the outcome variables during the waiting phase. During treatment, most parent-rated outcome measures (including the primary outcome measure) showed a significant decrease, which was stronger than changes in the waiting phase. Most self-rated outcome measures also showed significant decreases during treatment, but a stronger decrease than in the waiting phase was only found for peer-related aggressive behavior. The computer-facilitated social skills training appears to be an effective CBT intervention for children with peer-related aggressive behavior.

Social skills training for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 5 to 18 years.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children is associated with hyperactivity and impulsivity, attention problems, and difficulties with social interactions. Pharmacological treatment may alleviate the symptoms of ADHD but this rarely solves difficulties with social interactions. Children with ADHD may benefit from interventions designed to improve their social skills. We examined the benefits and harms of social skills training on social skills, emotional competencies, general behaviour, ADHD symptoms, performance in school of children with ADHD, and adverse events. To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of social skills training in children and adolescents with ADHD. In July 2018, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, 4 other databases and two trials registers.We also searched online conference abstracts, and contacted experts in the field for information about unpublished or ongoing randomised clinical trials. We did not limit our searches by language, year of publication, or type or status of publication, and we sought translation of the relevant sections of non-English language articles. Randomised clinical trials investigating social skills training versus either no intervention or waiting-list control, with or without pharmacological treatment of both comparison groups of children and adolescents with ADHD. We conducted the review in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Intervention. We performed the analyses using Review Manager 5 software and Trial Sequential Analysis. We assessed bias according to domains for systematic errors. We assessed the certainty of the evidence with the GRADE approach. We included 25 randomised clinical trials described in 45 reports. The trials included a total of 2690 participants aged between five and 17 years. In 17 trials, participants were also diagnosed with various comorbidities.The social skills interventions were described as: 1) social skills training, 2) cognitive behavioural therapy, 3) multimodal behavioural/psychosocial therapy, 4) child life and attention skills treatment, 5) life skills training, 6) the "challenging horizon programme", 7) verbal self-instruction, 8) meta-cognitive training, 9) behavioural therapy, 10) behavioural and social skills treatment, and 11) psychosocial treatment. The control interventions were no intervention or waiting list.The duration of the interventions ranged from five weeks to two years. We considered the content of the social skills interventionsto be comparable and based on a cognitive-behavioural model.Most of the trials compared child social skills training or parent training combined with medication versus medication alone. Some of the experimental interventions also included teacher consultations.More than half of the trials were at high risk of bias for generation of the allocation sequence and allocation concealment. No trial reported on blinding of participants and personnel. Most of the trials did not report on differences between groups in medication for comorbid disorders. We used all eligible trials in the meta-analyses, but downgraded the certainty of the evidence to low or very low.We found no clinically relevant treatment effect of social skills interventions on the primary outcome measures: teacher-rated social skills at end of treatment (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00 to 0.22; 11 trials, 1271 participants; I2 = 0%; P = 0.05); teacher-rated emotional competencies at end of treatment (SMD -0.02, 95% CI -0.72 to 0.68; two trials, 129 participants; I2 = 74%; P = 0.96); or on teacher-rated general behaviour (SMD -0.06 (negative value better), 95% CI -0.19 to 0.06; eight trials, 1002 participants; I2 = 0%; P = 0.33). The effect on the primary outcome, teacher-rated social skills at end of treatment, corresponds to a MD of 1.22 points on the social skills rating system (SSRS) scale (95% CI 0.09 to 2.36). The minimal clinical relevant difference (10%) on the SSRS is 10.0 points (range 0 to 102 points on SSRS).We found evidence in favour of social skills training on teacher-rated core ADHD symptoms at end of treatment for all eligible trials (SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.05; 14 trials, 1379 participants; I2= 69%; P = 0.02), but the finding is questionable due to lack of support from sensitivity analyses, high risk of bias, lack of clinical significance, high heterogeneity, and low certainty.The studies did not report any serious or non-serious adverse events. The review suggests that there is little evidence to support or refute social skills training for children and adolescents with ADHD. We may need more trials that are at low risk of bias and a sufficient number of participants to determine the efficacy of social skills training versus no training for ADHD. The evidence base regarding adolescents is especially weak.

Exploring the treatment integrity of virtual reality-based social skills training for children with high-functioning autism

ABSTRACT This mixed-method study explored the treatment integrity of virtual reality (VR)-based social skill training for children with high-functioning autism (HFA). In this study, we designed a VR-based social skills training environment using Opensimulator. Data were collected through screen recordings and behavioral observations of HFA children’s actions during training. A total of 90 training sessions from 15 children with HFA were analyzed using Jaccard index, a proposed indicator of treatment integrity. To corroborate the Jaccard index scores, we also used thematic analysis to investigate the treatment integrity of the VR-based social skills training. Overall, this study confirmed that VR-based social skill training yielded high treatment integrity. In addition, the results showed that treatment integrity scores differed according to the types of social scenarios in learning activities. Lastly, this study described design implications that should be considered when VR-based social skill training is implemented.

Bivariate Analysis on Autism Therapy using Social Skills Training in SLB YPPA Padang

Number of persons with autism in the world range of 60.000 - 150.000 autism occurred in children aged below 15 years. Therapy was given to improvement of social skills in autistic children Social Skills Training Therapy (SST). The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of Socialization Effects of SST for Autism Children (6 -12 years) in SLB Autism YPPA Padang 2015. Quasi - experimental design with one - group pre - post test. The population in this study all children with autism aged 6-12 year, and samples were taken by convenience sampling 30 people. Univariate date processing techniques while the frequency distribution and central tedensy and Bivariate date processing techniques with paired T - test. Results of research abilities children with autism after therapy SST, and light weight characteristic factors of symptoms associated with social skills of children with autism. Suggestions can be submitted to the study of nursing in order to detect early signs of the symptoms experienced by children with autism so there is no sign of severe symptoms and train the socialization skills of children with autism with SST therapy.

Current Trends in Research on Social Skills Training for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan: A Review

Current Trends in Research on Social Skills Training for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan: A Review

Using Single–Subject Design and Goal Attainment Scaling to Measure Improvement in Social Participation in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Date Presented 4/21/2018 This study analyzed the pairing of sensory–based activities with group social skills training for children with autism spectrum disorder and related sensory and social challenges. The study used goal attainment scaling and single–subject design to find positive results. Primary Author and Speaker: Lori Charney Additional Authors and Speakers: Jenna Aimes, Lauren Apgar, Alexa Buday, Naomi Calverley, Nicole Cotta, Casey Kearney, Ashley Redmond, Tyler Spires Contributing Authors: Amanda Salak

A Limited Review of Social Skills Training for Children with ASD

<p class=MsoTitleCxSpFirst style=margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space: auto;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:0in; line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;mso-mirror-indents:yes> <span style=font-size:11.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family: new= roman;mso-fareast-font-family:times= roman;mso-hansi-font-family:= times= roman;mso-bidi-font-family:times= roman=>1. Abstract <p class=MsoNormalCxSpFirst style=text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:0in;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> There are no medications to cure Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Behavior therapies and skills training are generally at the root of “treating” the disorder. Due to the social communication challenges characteristic of ASD, one necessary intervention target for children with ASD is improved social skills. Social skills training can occur in multiple settings such as at home, at school, or in a clinical setting. However, many young children with ASD need direct instruction and support for interacting with their peers in their classrooms. Thus, the purpose of this limited review of the research was to examine the effects of social skills training delivered in small group settings to improve social skills of young students with ASD. Four studies were reviewed and the findings suggest that small group social skills training allows students more opportunity for active involvement in the learning. In small groups, it is easier to be sure that all students receive the same intervention. There is less likely a chance that children will be overlooked in the learning. In small group settings there is a better chance of developing rapport between students. Finally, in small group settings there is more opportunity for peer learning. Implications for practice and future research will be discussed. This review examines the effects of social skills training in small groups for children with ASD. <p class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle style=text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:0in;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes>