Improving Social Skills in Students with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder through Intervention in a School Environment

Abstract

As Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to be identified at a higher rate, educational professionals are increasingly required to provide services for individuals who suffer from this disorder. Social skills interventions are particularly important for improving the quality of education for children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD). Research has shown that many school-based social skills programs designed to assist children with ASD have not been effective. Current research has attempted to provide effective social skills interventions for the HFASD population, generally in a clinical setting. Some of these interventions have been formatted and studied for use in a school environment as well, including the UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), Skillstreaming, and the Secret Agent Society (SAS) program. These interventions have resulted in improvements in social skills for children with HFASD in both clinical and school settings. A number of factors seem to be associated with the success of the programs, including dosage, peer interaction, parent assistance, generalization, manualized interventions, and treatment fidelity.