This meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of video modeling and video self-modeling (VSM) interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Twenty-three single-subject design studies were included in the meta-analysis. Intervention, maintenance, and generalization effects were measured by computing the percentage of nonoverlapping data points (PND). Results suggest that video modeling and VSM are effective intervention strategies for addressing social-communication skills, functional skills, and behavioral functioning in children and adolescents with ASD. Results also indicate that these procedures promote skill acquisition and that skills acquired via video modeling and VSM are maintained over time and transferred across persons and settings. The results suggest that video modeling and VSM intervention strategies meet criteria for designation as an evidence-based practice.

Social skills deficits are a central feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This meta-analysis of 55 single-subject design studies examined the effectiveness of school-based social skills interventions for children and adolescents with ASD. Intervention, maintenance, and generalization effects were measured by computing the percentage of non-overlapping data points. The results suggest that social skills interventions have been minimally effective for children with ASD. Specific participant, setting, and procedural features that lead to the most effective intervention outcomes are highlighted, and implications for school personnel are discussed. Finally, the results are compared to the outcomes of similar meta-analyses involving social skills interventions with other populations of children.

The present study examined the prevalence and types of anxiety exhibited by high-functioning adolescents With autism spectrum disorders and factors related to this anxiety. Results suggest that adolescents With autism spectrum disorders exhibit anxiety levels that are significantly higher than those of the general population. The study found a loW negative correlation betWeen assertive social skills and social anxiety. In addition, a moderate curvilinear relationship Was found betWeen empathic skills and the various social anxiety measures. Results of the study support an emerging body of research demonstrating elevated anxiety levels in high-functioning individuals With autism spectrum disorders.

The present study examined factors contributing to the development of social anxiety in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In particular, the study examined the contribution of social skill deficits and physiological hyperarousal to the development of social anxiety in individuals with ASD. Forty-one adolescents with high-functioning ASD participated in the study. The results of a multiple regression analysis suggest that the proposed model (i.e., the combination of social skills and physiological arousal) is a significant predictor of social anxiety in this sample. A developmental pathways model is proposed that identifies potential predisposing or protective factors that may contribute to the development, protection, or remediation of social anxiety in adolescents with autism.