The Effects of Multiple-Exemplar Training on Generalization of Social Skills with Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism: A Systematic Review
Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Erhard, P., Falcomata, T. S., et al. (2022).
Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11, 66-85.
This systematic review investigates the effect of multiple-exemplar training on the generalization of social skills in people on the autism spectrum aged 13 to 30 years.
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Peer-reviewed articles with experimental designs
11
Findings demonstrated positive outcomes for directly targeted social skill responses (e.g., requests, helping skills, responding to affective behaviors). Stimulus generalization to novel people, places, and/or situations was noted across most or all participants in 72.7% of studies, while response generalization was noted across most or all participants in 22.2% of studies. Mixed results were noted in 18.2% and 36.4% of cases respectively. Positive maintenance results were noted in 54.5% of all studies. Findings were limited by mixed methodological rigor and an overall paucity of evidence with small sample sizes (i.e., 49 participants across 11 studies). Further research is warranted.
