Considerations and Perspectives on Interventions to Improve Social Cognition in Adolescents With ASD Without ID: Involving Parents in Social Skills Groups

Improving social cognition and social skills is a challenge faced by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder without Intellectual Disability at any age. This process is particularly critical during late adolescence (15–18 years), a developmental phase generally characterized by rich social experiences that usually foster the development of friendships. Nevertheless, for youth with ASD, lingering difficulties in social cognition often hinder their ability to generate responses considered socially appropriated. These social deficits can contribute to isolation that has a detrimental effect on mental health. In adulthood, deficits of social skills are strongly associated with an overall lack of support, characterized by a failure to integrate into the labor market, a high unemployment rate, social isolation, and a higher suicide rate. In clinical settings, social skills groups are well-established therapeutic means to improve social cognition and social skills. Nevertheless, these interventions vary greatly regarding their objectives, contents and duration. Moreover, few have been validated and replicated by research. Our aim is to bring certain perspectives to a type of intervention that are widely used in care settings. After reviewing its positive aspects for increasing social cognition, and its limitations, we will discuss strategies to facilitate the generalization of social skills in an ecological context. In particular, we will base our reflection on our clinical experience and on our current project to adapt the PEERS model for adolescents into French. We will consider the current trend of involving parents as “social coaches” to generalize the social knowledge acquired in the social skills groups.

Peer-Mediated Social Skills Training

A number of studies have included typically developing peers and other nontarget peers in social skills groups with target students. These students often serve as models for appropriate behavior and provide opportunities for the target students to practice their social skills. This chapter discusses the utilization of peers in social skills training groups and discuss various ways to utilize peers (e.g., peer initiation, social network interventions). Guidelines for peer interventionist selection and training are included. This chapter also includes considerations for diversity and equity within peer-mediated social skills training.

Socioemotional Characteristics of Children With and Without Learning Disabilities

The purpose of the study was to characterize the relationships between behavior problems, academic achievement, and loneliness of students in the upper and lower thirds of a social skills classification. Participants were 733 students (359 boys and 374 girls) aged 9 to 14 years, 642 without learning disabilities (LDs) and 91 with LDs. Their homeroom teacher rated their social skills, and accordingly the upper and lower thirds of social skills scores were determined. Results showed differences in behavior problems between the low and high social skills groups. Boys displayed higher rates of behavior problems. Students with LDs achieved lower scores than their peers in academic achievements and higher scores in loneliness. The final model of the binary stepwise logistic regression showed that loneliness, behavior problems, and academic achievements were related to social skills, explaining 60% of the pseudo-variance (Cox & Snell R2 = .60). The findings help target individual variables that can promote school adjustment.