Social Skills Interventions for Individuals With Autism: Evaluation for Evidence-Based Practices Within a Best Evidence Synthesis Framework
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Reichow, B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2010).
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(2), 149-166.
This systematic review investigates the effects of social skills interventions on social behavior in individuals on the autism spectrum.
Not stated
2001-2008
Experimental design studies; quasi-experimental design studies; single-subject experimental design studies
66
Interventions incorporating visual supports (e.g., Social Stories, scripts, visual activity schedules) had "positive findings, suggesting they can be an effective method for enhancing social understanding and structuring social interactions or communication for preschool and school-aged children" (p. 161) on the autism spectrum.
"While there is enough evidence supporting the recommendation of naturalistic techniques for young children ..., the evidence of older individuals [on the autism spectrum] is insufficient to make recommendations" (p. 159).
For social skills outcomes "there is much support for the use of interventions based on [applied behavior analysis], and the use of these techniques should continue to be used in practice" (p. 159).
Due to variability in the procedures or because the intervention was used in combination with other treatment approaches, the evidence-based practice (EBP) criteria were not applied to many of the targeted interventions for preschoolers including
<ul>
<li>applied behavioral analysis;</li>
<li>parent/peer training;</li>
<li>social stories;</li>
<li>scripts; and </li>
<li>video modeling.</li>
</ul>
For the remaining interventions and populations, social skills groups for school-aged children on the autism spectrum had the evidence necessary to be classified as an established EBP and video modeling for school-aged children was considered a promising EBP.
"The accumulating evidence with young children for the support of parent training permits the recommendation of parent training as an effective method for increasing social skills of young children. However, the scarcity of research involving older participants does not permit the same" (pp. 159-160).
"No interventions for preschool-aged children or adolescents and/or adults had enough support to be considered an [evidence-based practice] based on the results of this review" (p. 161).
