The Efficacy of a Social Skills Group in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

The current study examined whether parents and therapists perceived changes in social skills in children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following participation in an eight-week social skills group. Participants included 100 children and adolescents diagnosed with an ASD. The group utilized principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to teach social skills in a community-integrated setting. Parents and therapists completed the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) prior to and following the individual\u27s participation in the group. Results of the data analysis demonstrated that parents did not perceive a significant change in their child\u27s social skills from pre-test to post-test. Therapists, on the other hand, did perceive a significant change in social skills following participation in the group. Finally, the overall ratings from pre-test to post-test did differ between parent and therapist ratings indicating that participants were not rated as generalizing acquired skills across environments. The current study provides support for the potential efficacy of community-integrated groups in assisting individuals with an ASD in acquiring social skills within the group context. Further research on strategies to promote skill generalization across environments is needed