Employability Social Skills Interventions in Transition-Age Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: A Literature Review

Employability skills are necessary for youth with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) to successfully navigate their transition from educational settings to autonomous adult life. Most importantly, research evidence has shown that individuals with IDs appear to perform adequately on job tasks, yet they frequently face inadequacies in the social aspects of work life. Although much of the existing employability research has focused on social skills training related to employability for individuals with other disabilities, people with IDs are underrepresented in the literature. Thus, this review aimed to provide insight into the existing social skills interventions that promote employability in transition-age youth with IDs. Results indicated that although there is a limited number of studies regarding intervention programs on improving social skills related to employment for individuals with IDs, the majority of them positively impacted target behaviors, thus highlighting the need for further empirical research.

Virtual and Augmented Reality in Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

In the last decade, there has been an increase in publications on technology-based interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Virtual reality based assessments and intervention tools are promising and have shown to be acceptable amongst individuals with ASD. This scoping review reports on 49 studies utilizing virtual reality and augmented reality technology in social skills interventions for individuals with ASD. The included studies mostly targeted children and adolescents, but few targeted very young children or adults. Our findings show that the mode number of participants with ASD is low, and that female participants are underrepresented. Our review suggests that there is need for studies that apply virtual and augmented realty with more rigorous designs involving established and evidenced-based intervention strategies.

A systematic review of school-based social skills interventions and observed social outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder in inclusive settings

This review examined school-based social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who were educated in inclusive school settings. Secondary aims sought to explore observation protocols and the resulting social outcomes used to measure the social behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder within authentic social environments at school. To meet the inclusion criteria, 18 studies (a) tested school-based social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who were educated in inclusive settings; (b) included typically developing peers to some degree within the intervention condition; (c) used naturalistic observation protocols; and (d) scored “strong” or “adequate” for group design, or “high quality” or “acceptable” for single-case design on methodological rating scales. Interventions were largely rooted in evidence-based practices, but were varied in terms of type, dose, and duration, and the extent to which typically developing peers and school personnel were trained to participate in the intervention. Observable social outcomes were similar across studies, and salient outcomes were able to measure post-intervention change across a wide age range. The identification of the active ingredients used in school-based social skills interventions as well as the salient social outcomes provides a roadmap for school practitioners as they move to incorporate evidence-based social skills interventions into their practice. Lay abstract Most social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder have been conducted in clinic-based settings. While students with autism spectrum disorder are able to acquire new skills, the generalization of these skills to authentic social environments, like school, is more difficult. To address this issue, there is an increase in research examining the implementation of social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who are educated in inclusive school settings. This review included 18 research studies that focused on school-based social interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder who were educated in inclusive school settings. Typically developing peers also participated in the interventions to varying degrees. Secondary aims explored naturalistic observation instruments and subsequent social outcomes used to record the social behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder at school. Social intervention components varied across studies, but all studies reported improvement in the targeted social behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder. There were many similarities in the ways in which researchers measured and defined social outcomes. Observation protocols were able to measure change in the social behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder across a wide age range. The recognition of evidence-based practices used in school-based social skills interventions, as well as the identification of observation protocols and salient social outcomes, provides a starting point for school practitioners to consider as they move to implement social skills interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder into inclusive school settings.

Social Skills Practice Strategy Opportunities for Students With EBD

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are likely to require interventions to help them navigate the social demands of the school environment. Several meta-analyses of social skills interventions have been conducted, which have provided guidance and demonstrated the effectiveness of social skills training for students with EBD. This article details a framework for teaching and practicing social skills interventions. Included in it are descriptions of several social skills strategies and ways in which the teaching of them can be individualized to meet the needs of students with EBD.

Getting SMART About Social Skills Interventions for Students With ASD in Inclusive Classrooms

Children with autism demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in their social skills and, therefore, their school intervention needs. No single intervention is expected to address the needs of all children with autism. In addition, not all evidence-based school interventions can be provided to all children with autism at all times. Thus, there is a need to understand how best to combine, sequence, and individualize social skills interventions to meet the heterogeneous needs of these children. Adaptive interventions (AIs) are prespecified sequences of decision rules used to guide schools in how best to combine, sequence, and individualize social skills interventions. However, there are currently no empirically derived AIs shown to improve social skills in schoolchildren with autism; moreover, there is a dearth of literature on the acceptability and feasibility of schoolwide, multilevel AIs that combine both environmental-level and individual-level interventions. The purpose of this study is to understand the acceptability and feasibility of four AIs in a SMART (sequential multiple-assignment randomized trial) implemented by educators and parents. The AIs include environmental (Remaking Recess, classroom supports) and individual interventions (parent assisted, peer mediated). Thirty-three elementary-age students with autism (male = 76%, Hispanic = 73%) were educated in 21 classrooms across seven schools by 25 teachers and 24 teaching assistants. Treatment expectations, acceptability, feasibility, and implementation data were collected over 18 weeks. Results indicated respondents were agreeable to treatment changes, but perceived feasibility was average and implementation was moderate. A number of lessons learned and proposed changes for scaling up are discussed.

Self-categorization and autism: Exploring the relationship between autistic traits and group homogeneity

The Integrated Self-Categorization model of Autism (ISCA: Skorich & Haslam, under review; Bertschy et al., 2019) argues that the theory of mind differences seen in autism arise from Enhanced Perceptual Functioning/Weak Central Coherence, via a dysfunctional self-categorization mechanism. The ISCA model also makes the novel prediction that phenomena that arise from self-categorization should also be affected in autistic people. In this paper, we report three studies exploring this prediction in the context of one such phenomenon: group homogeneity. We first measure participants’ autistic traits, then ask them to make homogeneity judgments of their ingroup alone or their outgroup alone (in Study 1, and in the Alone conditions of Studies 2a and 2b); or of their ingroup in comparison to their outgroup or their outgroup in comparison to their ingroup (in the Compare conditions of Studies 2a and 2b). As predicted, we find that: the degree of autistic traits negatively predicts ratings of group homogeneity; this relationship is mediated by social identification/self-categorization; and typical comparison-related homogeneity effects are strengthened at higher relative to lower levels of autistic traits. These studies provide convergent evidence for the ISCA model and suggest important avenues for well-being and social skills interventions for autistic people.

A Systematic Review of Studies on Social Skills Development for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Aim and Significance: The systematic literature review is developed as an investigation of existing and recommended evidence based social skills and strategies to adopt in improving adolescents with ASD social skills. The systematic review was developed based on the understanding that a majority of the studies have focused on children below 11 years social skills. The need to analsye and establish the age specific social skills and strategies required informed the review development. This ystematic review evaluates the available published studies on group-based social skills interventions in the United States and the realm of Canada to improve the social skills among adolescents with ASD Methods: The systematic review developed an online search for peer reviewed articles published on the Medline, PsycINFO, Psychoarticle, Psychology and behaviour and Web of Science, through a PubMed-NCBI, an EBSCO and the Ovid databases. Key words and phrases were used to search for relevant literature. Once results were obtained, an inclusion and exclusion criteria was applied to narrow down the studies to applicable and most relevant studies. Results and Discussion: Three categories of social skills interventions have been identified to be effective in improving social and communication skills. They are (i) the use of the PEERS, (ii) social skills training group and (iii) group skills training. The recommendation for future research should focus on comparing protocols of various social skills training in clinical settings of the real-world.