Do group interventions help people with autism spectrum disorder to develop better relationships with others? A critical review of the literature

Abstract

Accessible summary• Lots of people with autism find it difficult to make friends and have relationships.• There are lots of different groups that can help people with autism to learn social skills and how to make friends.• Some of the groups were specially designed for people with a learning disability as well as autism.• The groups can help support people to talk about their emotions, talk to other people about their thoughts and feelings and practise talking to other people.• This paper found that social skills groups can help people with autism to improve their social skills and to talk to people more.• The PEERS-YA group appears to be the best social skills group for people with autism without a learning disability.• More research is needed to learn more about social skills groups for people with autism and a learning disability. AbstractBackground: Social and communication impairments are a core diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can act as a barrier to developing relationships.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) guidelines recommend group social skills interventions as the first-line treatment to help adults with ASD improve their social skills and relationships. To date, reviews have only explored the impact of group social skills interventions for adults with ASD without intellectual disability (ID). This review aimed to critically appraise studies investigating group social skills interventions for adults with ASD both without intellectual disability and with a mild or moderate intellectual disability. Method:A systematic search of four databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL), as well as hand-searching of references, was conducted. Ten studies were identified, employing different designs and methodologies, and covering six different group social skills interventions.Results: Overall, the review provided fairly consistent evidence that group social skills in different formats can reduce social impairments and increase social interaction, social knowledge and empathy for adults with ASD.

The relationship of inclusive climate and peers' attitude on children with disabilities in China: A mediating role of empathy

“…That is, students with a high level of empathy have higher acceptance of peers with disabilities in inclusive settings. This is in line with and strengthens further the results obtained by existing studies (e.g., Miller, 2013 ; Atkinson-Jones and Hewitt, 2019 ). The studies showed that the ability to enter into another individual's thoughts and feelings is important to develop in order to achieve a more inclusive attitude toward students with disabilities.…”

An Internet Based Intervention for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Qualitative Study of Participants Experiences

“…Autism-specific factors, such as difficulties communicating needs or maintaining structure (14,16) are related to the inaccessibility of health care. The advantages of group-based interventions for individuals with ASD have been suggested in several studies (17)(18)(19)(20) but there are several barriers to participation. Some people with ASD refrain from using public transport to health care facilities due to perceptual sensitivity (15).…”

Measuring empathy in youth and young adults with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intelligence in residential care - The validation of an adapted basic empathy scale: The BES-MID

“…Research indicates that children and adolescents with MID/BI have fewer self-regulation abilities than their typically developing peers ([ 52 , 53 ]), and that they also have difficulties regarding emotion regulation, cognition, behaviour, and physiology in response to stressful events or circumstances [ 49 ], which might point towards specific difficulties in dealing with emotions and prosocial behaviour ([ 5 , 50 , 54 ]). Notably, at least three reviews showed that lack of empathy and/or prosocial behavior in individuals with ASD can be treated effectively, including those with mild and moderate intellectual disability ([ [60] , [61] , [62] ]). Finally, there is support from research that adolescents with MID/BI experience lower levels of angry mood in their daily life compared to their peers without intellectual disabilities [ 54 ].…”