By teaching social rules thought to be necessary for social competence, social skills training (SST) curricula aim to improve indicators of well-being for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as the attainment of meaningful friendships. However, several recent meta-analyses indicate that SST curricula may fall short of these goals. We offer an explanation for these potentially null effects by illustrating how the content of these curricula diverge from empirical evidence derived from disciplines that take social interaction as their object of study. Next, we argue that employing the social rules advocated for by SST curricula may work counterproductively by inhibiting authenticity, while at the same time increasing stigma associated with ASD. We close with suggestions for future intervention research.

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Differences in social functioning are a hallmark feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and much research has been devoted to locating cognitive and developmental explanations for this domain. To sort through this literature, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis that quantifies the extent to which several of these candidate constructs are associated with social functioning. We gathered 881 effect sizes calculated from 133 unique participant samples, and synthesized Pearson's r correlations between social functioning and three cognitive constructs; (a) theory of mind (ToM), (b) executive function, and (c) central coherence, and five developmental constructs: (d) initiating joint attention, (e) responding to joint attention, (f) imitation, (g) pretend play, and (h) visual fixation to social stimuli. We synthesized effect sizes using robust variance estimation for each putative correlate, for populations with ASD and typical development (TD) separately. We also conducted a series of meta‐regressions to determine if sample and study features moderated effect sizes. We found that, in the ASD group, effect size estimates were significant and small (<0.30) for ToM, executive function, and initiating joint attention. Effect size estimates were significant and moderate (0.30 < r < 0.50) for imitation and response to joint attention. In the TD group, effect size estimates for ToM, executive function, and initiating joint attention were significant and small. In a meta‐regression collapsed across correlates, we found that effect sizes were significantly larger in the ASD group (P < 0.05) and decreased as mental age increased (P < 0.001). Autism Res 2019, 12: 152–175 © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary In this meta‐analysis, we found that correlations between social functioning and several constructs used to explain the developmental or cognitive origins of social functioning were quite low. This could mean that researchers will need to develop new theories about social functioning in ASD.

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Describing how caregivers' talk to their autistic children, and how their talk may influence social and language outcomes, has important implications for developmental theory and intervention research. In this systematic literature review, we examine 294 caregiver talk variables extracted from 65 studies, provide a narrative overview of research findings, and link measurement approaches to various theories of language development. The majority of variables included only talk directed to children (90%), and specified the speech act being performed (57%). More than one‐third of variables measured talk that was responsive to children's attention, activities, or communication (38%), and slightly less than a third measured variables that elicited children's communication or engagement. Semantic aspects of talk were specified in 41% of variables, structural features were measured in 20% of variables, and suprasegmental features were measured in only 1% of variables. Talk quantity (without reference to other aspects of talk) was measured in 8% of variables. We found strong support that talk related to children's attention is implicated in autistic children's language development, but this construct has been measured inconsistently in terms of semantic, structural, and functional features. There is also evidence for bi‐directional relationships between caregiver's talk and autistic children's development on a variety of semantic and structural variables. Lay Summary In our review, we found many differences in how researchers measured caregiver's talk, but also some promising leads. Researchers should continue examining caregiver talk related to children's focus of attention to clarify how this type of language contributes to autistic children's development. We also found interesting research on how children influence caregiver's talk, and encourage researchers to continue to study how this occurs.

Background: Previous studies have shown an increasing preference for online communication within the autistic advocacy community. Yet, little is known about how online communication facilitates the formation of autistic identity. This qualitative study examined online autobiographical narratives about repetitive and restricted behaviors-specifically ''stimming''-produced by autistic adults. The primary goal of this study was to investigate how the production of, and online interactions around, these narratives functioned as collaborative resources for empowered autistic identities. Methods: Nine blog posts were located that contained autobiographical narratives related to stimming and were analyzed using discourse analysis. Results: Analysis revealed that individual and collective identities were negotiated within narratives through:(1) situating the self in relation to other story characters and the reader in varying ways and (2) connecting the autistic community and solidifying collective ideologically aligned voices. Conclusions: Online blog spaces facilitated the emergence and construction of empowered individual and collective identities for autistic individuals. Future research should continue to focus on how autistic individuals form relationships, create advocacy communities, and cultivate empowered identities within online spaces. Lay SummaryWhy was this study done and what was the purpose of this study?More autistic individuals are using the internet to communicate, and research has shown that online communication can benefit autistic individuals in various ways. However, there is a lack of understanding of how online communication is related to autistic identity. We examined how autistic bloggers' stories about their stimming experiences contributed to individual and collective autistic identities. Stimming refers to repetitive body movements, movements of objects, and other repetitive and restricted behavior and is considered one of two core features of an autism diagnosis. Although some stakeholders such as educators or parents have tried to get rid of these repetitive movements because they believe that stimming is not an appropriate behavior, autistic and other neurodiversity advocates assert that stimming is beneficial for autistic individuals and is important for developing an autistic identity. What did we do?We examined nine blog posts written by autistic bloggers using a method referred to as discourse analysis. In each blog post that we analyzed, the author shares their experiences about stimming. Discourse analysis is a method used to explore how people use language to build meaning, including the formation of social identities. Therefore, particular attention was paid to how the bloggers told the narrative (i.e., specific word choices to describe characters within the narrative and verb tense). What were the results and implications of the study?We found that by sharing stories about their stimming experience in the context of blog posts, autistic individuals developed empowered individual ...

In this systematic evaluation of intervention research for transition-age autistic youth, we examined quality indicators in 193 group and single-case design intervention studies, which tested effects on 1258 outcomes. Behaviorally based interventions were the most common intervention type. We found significant threats to internal validity for the majority of studies, including inadequate randomization, unmasked assessors, and too few data points to infer functional relations. The majority of outcomes were measured in contexts similar to the intervention and were conceptualized as behaviors directly addressed by intervention procedures. As such, they are of unclear long-term utility for autistic people entering adulthood. Adverse events were rarely reported. We suggest several avenues for improving intervention research for this age group. Lay abstract In this study, we assess the quality of intervention research that focuses on autistic youth who are 14–22 years old. We found 193 different studies on this topic, and carefully reviewed them. Most of these studies tested strategies that were behavioral. This means that they used procedures like prompting and rewards to change participants’ behavior. We found that the majority of studies had problems that make it hard to determine whether or not the intervention worked. The problems related to how researchers designed their studies, and how they measured the study outcomes. We also found that researchers rarely tried to find out if the strategies they studied had unintended negative effects for participants. Because of these issues, we make suggestions for how researchers might design better studies that will let people know how well the strategies worked.

We examined stigma towards vignette characters representing diverse autistic characteristics (social, non-speaking, or repetitive interests or restricted behaviors; RIRB) among 259 South Korean and 240 American participants (age range = 18 ~ 74). Within each domain, participants were randomized to read a vignette depicting low or high support needs. Koreans reported greater stigma towards autistic characteristics and less awareness of and support for the neurodiversity movement than Americans. Autistic characters’ support needs and rater characteristics (autism knowledge, neurodiversity endorsement, and contact quantity) predicted stigma in at least one domain, and after accounting for these variables, participants’ nationality was suggestively associated only with stigma towards social characteristics and RIRB. Findings highlight the need for culturally adapted-training that provides contact with diverse autistic people. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10803-022-05739-0.