News and Knowledge

In 2013, OAR funded a research study that evaluated a social skills group intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Principal investigators Robert Koegel, Ph.D., and Ty Vernon, Ph.D., from the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, set out to examine if the program could improve adolescents’ social skills in the short and long term.

The Program

Thirty-six participants, ages 12 to 17, all with a diagnosis of ASD, were selected for the research project. One parent per adolescent also participated in the weekly checkout session and completed measures of social progress. Half of the participants were assigned to a wait list to ensure that observed social improvements could be attributed to the program. That group later participated in the program after the study was completed.

Social Tools and Rules for Teens (START), the 20-week social skills program Drs. Koegel and Vernon developed for use in the project, consisted of several social skill instruction innovations. In addition to using college-aged social group facilitators, the program also included typically developing high school peer models/mentors. These same-aged peers served as social partners, provided valuable insights into high school social life, shared their social experiences, demonstrated how they used different social skills, and gave personalized feedback to the participating adolescents with ASD.

The intervention also included individually tracked social skill targets, which were set by the student assistants. For example, one participant may have chosen asking more questions while another may have targeted sharing more personal information. Each individual was taught to track their use of a particular skill while socializing with others in the group. As they demonstrated mastery of a certain skill, it was replaced with another skill that warranted attention.

Each weekly two-hour session included free socialization time intended to create a natural comfortable social environment and a group social activity that varied each week and was intended to foster sharing of personal information, encourage learning about peer interests, increase comfort in the group, and promote cooperation and teamwork.

The remaining time was devoted to the week’s social skill topic. The social facilitators used role-plays, discussion, and practice to teach the skill. Covered social skills topics included making introductions, maintaining a conversation, respectfully disagreeing, and group interactions.

Results

Adolescents in the immediate treatment group experienced significant increases in parent- and self-reported ratings of social competence and a significant decrease in ratings of social impairment. Follow-up surveys administered 20 weeks after the program was over indicated that their social skills continue to improve with time even though they were no longer participating in weekly sessions, suggesting that the program provided the adolescents with the necessary skill foundation to be able to seek out new social experiences and learning opportunities on their own.

Drs. Vernon and Koegel are currently testing the effectiveness of the START program with an older group of participants, young adults ages 18 to 25. Also funded by OAR, the two-year project, which concludes this year, aims to use the START program to help young adults meet the social skills challenges they face after high school, such as forming friendships and romantic relationships and interacting with coworkers and supervisors.

Life is social. Maximizing the ability of young people to feel confident and competent in a variety of social situations helps to ensure that their social vulnerabilities do not hold them back from the tremendous potential that each of them possess.