A Comparison of Two Group-Delivered Social Skills Programs for Young Children with Autism

Abstract

A social skills group intervention was developed and evaluated for young children with autism. Twenty-five 4- to 6-year-old (diagnosed) children were assigned to one of two kinds of social skills groups: the direct teaching group or the play activities group. The direct teaching group used a video-modeling format to teach play and social skills over the course of the intervention, while the play activities group engaged in unstructured play during the sessions. Groups met for 5 weeks, three times per week, 1 h each time. Data were derived and coded from videotapes of pre- and post-treatment unstructured play sessions. Findings indicated that while members of both groups increased prosocial behaviors, the direct teaching group made more gains in social skills.

Nonmedical Interventions for Children With ASD: Recommended Guidelines and Further Research Needs

“…Social skills programs for higher-functioning children and adolescents Many controlled trials 21,23,24,29,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65] and observational studies 25,26,30,31,[66][67][68][69][70] of social skills programs have been conducted. We conducted several meta-analyses on social skills studies that used similar outcome measures.…”

“…[21][22][23][24][25][26] No specific setting or psychological approach has been found superior to others. Oneon-one approaches have been found effective for young children, whereas group programs, often involving typical peers, have been found effective for older children.…”

A Systematic Review of Social Communication and Interaction Interventions for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Of these, 5 were conducted in the United States (62-66), one took place in the United Kingdom (67), and one occurred in Australia (68). Some of the studies included children (62,63,67,68), whereas others focused on adolescents (64)(65)(66).…”

“…A study by Kroeger and colleagues compared two kinds of social skills groups for 4-to 6-year-old children with ASD (62). A 3-year retrospective study by Legoff and colleagues (63) compared the longterm outcomes of children with ASD who participated in Lego-based interactive playgroups and a matched comparison group who had received comparable non-Lego therapy.…”

Psychophysiological analysis of a pedagogical agent and robotic peer for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

“…165], expressive labels [244], social skills [245,246], job functions [244], play [247,248], inference [244], reading [249], food and drink preparation [250], picture to word/word to picture matching [249], and sign language [251].…”