Social Competence and Social Skills Training and Interventionfor Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

摘要

This study examined the effectiveness of a30 week social competence and social skills group inter-vention program with children, ages 7-11, diagnosed withAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Eighteen children withASD were assessed with pretreatment and posttreatmentmeasures on the Walker-McConnell Scale (WMS) and theMGH YouthCare Social Competence Development Scale.Each received the 30-week intervention program. Forcomparison, a matched sample of ten non-ASD childrenwas also assessed, but received no treatment. The findingsindicated that each ASD intervention group demonstratedsignificant gains on the WMS and significant improvementin the areas of anxiety management, joint attention, andflexibility/transitions. Results suggest that this approachcan be effective in improving core social deficits in indi-viduals with ASD.