Enhancing Social Initiations Using Naturalistic Behavioral Intervention: Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial for Children with Autism

Deficits in social skills are common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and there is an urgent need for effective social skills interventions, especially for improving interactions with typically developing peers. This study examined the effects of a naturalistic behavioral social skil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2021-10, Vol.51 (10), p.3547-3563
Main Authors: Gengoux, Grace W., Schwartzman, Jessica M., Millan, M. Estefania, Schuck, Rachel K., Ruiz, Andrés A., Weng, Yingjie, Long, Jin, Hardan, Antonio Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism
Autistic children
Behavior
Behavior Modification
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child and School Psychology
Child Behavior
Children
Clinical trials
Generalization
Interaction
Interpersonal Competence
Intervention
Joint attention
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Pediatrics
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Program Effectiveness
Psychology
Public Health
Social aspects
Social Development
Social functioning
Social interaction
Social skills
Social skills in children
Training
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Summary:Deficits in social skills are common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and there is an urgent need for effective social skills interventions, especially for improving interactions with typically developing peers. This study examined the effects of a naturalistic behavioral social skills intervention in improving social initiations to peers through a randomized controlled trial. Analyses of multimethod, multi-informant measures indicated that children in the active group (SIMI) demonstrated greater improvement in the types of initiations which were systematically prompted and reinforced during treatment (i.e., behavior regulation). Generalization to joint attention and social interaction initiation types, as well as collateral gains in broader social functioning on clinician- and parent-rated standardized measures were also observed.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1007/s10803-020-04787-8