School-based social skills training for young people with autism spectrum disorders

Einfeld, Stewart; Beaumont, Renae; Clark, Trevor; Clarke, Kristina; Costley, Debra; Gray, Kylie Megan; Horstead, Siân K.; Redoblado-Hodge, Marie Antoinette; Roberts, Jacqueline; Sofronoff, Kate; Taffe, John Raymond; Howlin, Patricia

doi:10.3109/13668250.2017.1326587

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…There is also some question as to the representativeness of the sample. Many parents reported high household incomes and education, self‐identified as White/Caucasian, and all children were required to have sufficient cognitive ability and motivation to participate; it is important to conduct trials more representative of the spectrum to determine effectiveness and generalizability (e.g., Einfeld et al., ). Finally, despite randomization, the WL group had higher levels of externalizing symptoms than the TI group at baseline, which was statistically controlled for in all analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A randomized waitlist‐controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy to improve emotion regulation in children with autism

Weiss

Thomson

Riosa

et al. 2018

Child Psychology Psychiatry

111

105

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BackgroundMental health problems are common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and difficulties with emotion regulation processes may underlie these issues. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is considered an efficacious treatment for anxiety in children with ASD. Additional research is needed to examine the efficacy of a transdiagnostic treatment approach, whereby the same treatment can be applied to multiple emotional problems, beyond solely anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a manualized and individually delivered 10‐session, transdiagnostic CBT intervention, aimed at improving emotion regulation and mental health difficulties in children with ASD.MethodsSixty‐eight children (M age = 9.75, SD = 1.27) and their parents participated in the study, randomly allocated to either a treatment immediate (n = 35) or waitlist control condition (n = 33) (ISRCTN #67079741). Parent‐, child‐, and clinician‐reported measures of emotion regulation and mental health were administered at baseline, postintervention/postwaitlist, and at 10‐week follow‐up.ResultsChildren in the treatment immediate condition demonstrated significant improvements on measures of emotion regulation (i.e., emotionality, emotion regulation abilities with social skills) and aspects of psychopathology (i.e., a composite measure of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, adaptive behaviors) compared to those in the waitlist control condition. Treatment gains were maintained at follow‐up.ConclusionsThis study is the first transdiagnostic CBT efficacy trial for children with ASD. Additional investigations are needed to further establish its relative efficacy compared to more traditional models of CBT for children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall mean scores are then calculated. The ERSSQ‐P has been found to have high internal consistency and concurrent validity in parents of children with ASD (Butterworth et al., ; Einfeld et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized waitlist‐controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy to improve emotion regulation in children with autism

Weiss

Thomson

Riosa

et al. 2018

Child Psychology Psychiatry

111

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Interventions to improve social skills are widely used in schools and clinics for autistic children. These can involve a wide variety of different strategies, including social groups, computerised programmes, cognitive behaviour strategies, and peer support [128][129][130]. Most studies report positive findings on parent and/or teacher ratings of social competence, and/or analogue measures of children's social awareness and understanding.…”

Section: Social Skill Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESCAP practice guidance for autism: a summary of evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment

Fuentes

Hervás

Howlin

2020

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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105

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Across Europe, there is increased awareness of the frequency and importance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is now recognised not only as a childhood disorder but as a heterogeneous, neurodevelopmental condition that persists throughout life. Services for individuals with autism and their families vary widely, but in most European countries, provision is limited. In 2018, European Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ESCAP) identified the need for a Practice Guidance document that would help to improve knowledge and practice, especially for individuals in underserviced areas. The present document, prepared by the ASD Working Party and endorsed by the ESCAP Board on October 3, 2019, summarises current information on autism and focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and treating this condition.

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“…Given the lifelong nature of ASD, however, spontaneous, significant improvements in students’ social–emotional functioning over a short time‐period are improbable. Two independent evaluations of the SAS program (Beaumont & Sofronoff, ; Einfeld et al., ) showed that participants in treatment as usual and school curriculum as usual conditions showed no improvement on the measures used in this study over a 2‐ to 3‐month period. Furthermore, responder bias cannot explain the positive findings on the James and the Maths Test and Dylan Is Being Teased measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…The current study aimed to evaluate whether less intensive, more cost‐effective variants of the SAS program delivered by teachers could improve the social skills, emotion regulation skills, and behavior of students with HFASD at school and home. Condition 1 involved the delivery of a manualized 10‐session variant of the full SAS program (Beaumont, ) with no direct parent involvement, as feedback from an independent specialist school trial of the program suggested that engaging parents can be challenging within a school delivery framework (Einfeld et al., ). In Condition 2, school staff used the Secret Agent Society Computer Game Pack (a computer game, selection of student visual supports and instruction manuals—Beaumont, ) “as they saw fit.” It was hypothesized that improvements in social skills, emotion regulation skills, and behavior would occur for students in both conditions, although Condition 1 participants would make greater gains than students in Condition 2, with improvements maintained at 6‐week follow‐up.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Secret Agent Society Social Skills Program for Children With High‐functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Comparison of Two School Variants

Beaumont

Rotolone

Sofronoff

2015

Psychology in the Schools

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School is often considered an ideal setting for child social skills training due to the opportunities it provides for skills teaching, modeling, and practice. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of two variants of the Secret Agent Society social skills program for children with high‐functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) in a mainstream school context. Sixty‐nine students aged 7–12 took part in one of two different 10‐week versions of the program (structured versus unstructured) to determine their relative effectiveness. Results suggested that both program variants led to improvements in emotion regulation abilities, social skills, and behavior at school and home, maintained at 6‐week follow‐up. However, the structured intervention generally led to superior treatment outcomes. These results suggest that improvements in social–emotional functioning can be achieved for students with HFASD through time‐limited school‐based interventions. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

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School-based social skills training for young people with autism spectrum disorders

Cited by 34 publications

References 41 publications

A randomized waitlist‐controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy to improve emotion regulation in children with autism

A randomized waitlist‐controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy to improve emotion regulation in children with autism

ESCAP practice guidance for autism: a summary of evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment

The Secret Agent Society Social Skills Program for Children With High‐functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Comparison of Two School Variants

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