The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Social interaction and engagement deficits are at the core of ASD. Differentiating social skill needs within the diagnostic categories is essential before designing interventions or measuring effectiveness. A social skill taxonomy based on the personal and family goals of 500 children entering a social skills after school program was developed and applied to the social skill goals of 204 children with ASD. Outcomes including intervention guidelines, a curriculum framework and recommendations by people with autism will be presented. Social interaction and engagement deficits are at the core of the autism spectrum diagnosis (ASD) diagnosis, which includes autism, Asperger’s syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Children with ASD spend less time interacting with peers, have fewer social initiations, have limited shared experiences with peers, are less likely to respond to social initiations from peers, and more time engaged in purposeless or atypical activities. ^1-4 For individuals with high functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s syndrome, social skill deficits are problematic in spite of  relatively strong cognitive and language skills.⁵ Social skills do not improve with age and  have a life long effect on people with ASD that impacts their social interaction with family and peers.  Social skill deficits lead to feelings of isolation and may impact employment.⁶  Two reviews of the literature^6-7 on social skills in ASD  concluded that there were few well designed studies to inform  us on effective interventions for social skill deficits. Also traditional evaluation tools are not sensitive enough to measure change.  Moreover, there is a need to document  and differentiate the social skill deficits in children with ASD before being able to determine the nature of  intervention and how to measure the effectiveness. Finally it is important to be able to tailor intervention to the specific needs of the subgroups of children within ASD. 

Advocates for people with ASD have suggested the need for social coaching and translating the social environment to the individual with ASD.  Sensory sensitivities heavily impact social skills in this population and should be taken into account. Finally, specific social reciprocations needs to be taught and practiced⁵.

This presentation will first describe a study in which a social skill taxonomy of  seven constructs and supporting behaviors was developed based  on the personal and family goals of 500 children entering a social skills after school program.

The taxonomy was then applied to the social skill goals of 204 children, 2.5-9.5 years of age, with ASD. Initial goal sheets were gathered from an archived chart review of children attending an occupational therapy social skills after school intervention program. The goal sheets were developed at the time of entrance into the program. There were 88 (43%) children diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, 80 (39%) with PDD-NOS and 36 (18%) diagnosed with autism. There were 177 (87%) males and 27 (13%) females. Eighty two (40%) were taking medication and 122 (60%) were not taking medication.  All children were attending school - 122 (59%) were in graded classes and  82 (40%) were in ungraded classes.  Children were from middle and upper middle class social economic status based on the programs proximity to metropolitan suburban neighborhoods and towns. Children were referred for intervention through their families, and professionals both within and outside their school systems.

A total of 2603 goals of the 204 children were coded within the taxonomy. The differences among the three sub diagnoses of ASD:  Autism,  PDD and Asperger’s syndrome were explored through the use of MANOVA and  correlations. Analysis depicted the relationship among social skill need, age and diagnosis. Intervention guidelines and a potential curriculum framework will be presented based on the findings of the study, a review of current literature as well as reactions, recommendations and opinions of an expert panel of people with autism providing the   consumer’s input into the outcomes. References

¹Lord, C. & Magill-Evans, J. (1995).  Peer interactions of autistic children and adolescents.  Development and Psychopathology, 7, 611-626.

²McGee, G.G., Feldman, R.S., & Morrier, M.J. (1997).  Benchmarks of social treatment for children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 353-364.

³Sigman, M., & Ruskin, E. (1999).  Continuity and change in social competence of children with autism, Down Syndrome, and developmental delays.  Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 64, 1-130.

⁴Gutstein, S.E. & Whitney, T. (2002). Asperger syndrome and the development of social competence. Focus on Autism & Other Developmental Disabilities, 17, 161-171.

⁵Stillman, W. (2007) The Autism Answer Book. Naperville, Ill:Sourcebooks, Inc. ⁶Rao P.A., Beidel, D.C., Murray, M.J. (in press online, DOI: 10.1007/s10803-007-0402-4) Social skills interventions for children with Asperger’s syndrome or high- functioning autism: A review and recommendations. Journal  of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

⁷White, S.W., Keonig, K.  & Scahill, L.  (2007)  Social skills development in children with autism spectrum disorders: A review of the intervention literature. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 37, 1858-1868.

Learning Objectives:

Presenters:

Moya Kinnealey, Ph.D., OTR/L
Chair and Associate Professor
Temple University

Dr. Kinnealey is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy at Temple University. She has published and presented extensively on sensory processing, social skills, and mental health issues associated with sensory processing disorders. She presented at the World Autism Congress in Cape Town, South Africa in 2006.

Beth Pfeiffer, Ph.D., OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Temple University

Dr. Pfeiffer, Assistant Professor,Occupational Therapy,Temple University specializes in children with developmental disabilities and researches effective interventions and emotional issues in children with ASD.

Kristie Patten Koenig, Ph.D., OTR/L
Assistant Professor
New York University

Dr. Koenig, Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, New York University, holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. She has presented nationally and internationally, including presenting at the 2nd World Autism Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, on topics related to ASD and understanding sensory, motor, and communication issues.

Nancy A. Kauffman, Ed.M., OTR/L
Owner and Director, Collage Social Skills Programs
Collage Social Skills Programs

Nancy Kauffman is the developer, owner and director of a multi site non profit program for children with social skill deficits or needs. She has authored book chapters on this topic and co authored a book on intervention with children with developmental delays.

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