The Effectiveness of a Social Skills Group Therapy on Social Development in Children with High-Functioning Autism and/or Disruptive Behavior Disorders

2011

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as well as children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) have significant problems in social interaction. Difficulties with social interactions may result from atypical social development, unusual interests that are not shared by peers, and information-processing impairments that lead to difficulty understanding social cues (Barry, Klinger, Lee, Palardy, Gilmore, & Bodin, 2003). Social skills training has been shown to be effective in improving social interactions in children with high functioning autism (Reichow & Volkmar, 2009) and with disruptive behaviors. However, there are few studies that have examined the maintenance and generalization of the skills to alternate environments once the training sessions have ceased. The purpose of the study was to determine if an eight-week social skills curriculum (SCORE skills; Vernon, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1996) in outpatient clinic group therapy will improve the social functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or disruptive behavior disorders (i.e., ADHD, ODD, DBD, NOS) at 4 weeks and 8 weeks during the treatment period in the clinic setting, and four weeks post-treatment in the school or home environment. A second purpose of the study was to compare the social skills intervention to an 8-week wait list control group.

Conference presentations and posters presented

Consumers/Families, Professionals, Students

N/A