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

Abstract

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.

Generic versus disorder specific cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder in youth: A randomized controlled trial using internet delivery

“…Although not specifically evaluated with children with SAD, computer or internet delivery of social skills training has been shown to produce significant improvements in social skills with children in regular classrooms and youth with autism spectrum disorders (Beaumont, Rotolone, & Sofronoff, 2015;Craig et al, 2015;Sanchez et al, 2014;Tan, Mazzucchelli, & Beaumont, 2015).…”

Anxiety and ASD: Current Progress and Ongoing Challenges

“…There is now growing evidence for links between sensory function and anxiety along with autism core symptoms including repetitive behaviour and social competence (Beaumont et al 2015;South and Rodgers 2017). Future research including questionnaire, physiological and imaging paradigms will be useful for clarifying underlying mechanisms that link these important constructs together.…”

Translating child development research into practice: Can teachers foster children's theory of mind in primary school?

“…ToM training for primary-school children The origins of school-based ToM training programmes can be found in studies involving clinical groups, typically children with autism (i.e., Beaumont, Rotolone, & Sofronoff, 2015). In a shift from this research tradition, in this study we focused on typically developing children.…”