Effectiveness of Social Skills Training Group for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Socio-communicative impairments are core deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD have difficulty understanding eye contact, facial expressions, body language, and different tones of voice when communicating with others. They can't interpret the thoughts and feelings of others, or predict social events, and the impaired social skills may lead to rejection of peers and poor participation in school.

Social skills training targets the core symptoms of ASD. Empirical support is building for cognitive-behavioral intervention approach, social skills training group for verbally fluent, school-aged children with ASD. Several studies have shown the efficacy of the social story intervention. It is usually provided individually, but we want to use it in the group.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: social skill group

Detailed Description

Many different intervention program have been used throughout the world. One alternative method used to teach children is the social stories method, which was created by Gray (1993) to address the social difficulties of children with ASD. The theoretical framework of the social stories is based on theory of mind (TOM) hypothesis. Difficulties associated with the impaired TOM was addressed by explaining the complex social concepts in simple words and often include the description of perspectives of others. Several studies have shown the efficacy of the social story intervention. It is usually provided individually, but we want to use it in the group.

In this study, we plan to randomly assign thirty-six 5-7-year-old children with ASD to one of two kinds of social skills groups: the social skills group or the play activities group (control condition). Group met for 16 weeks, one time per week, one hour each time. Participants were recruited between October 2020 and September 2023. Assessment were conducted at baseline and endpoint (16 weeks). To empower parents, we would also ask parents of participants to attend our treatment and lecture.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 86
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 100
    • National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 100
    • NTUH

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 2 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder
• Must be able to understand 3-steps verbal commands

Exclusion criteria:

• Mental retardation
• Seizure

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: social skill training group; We plan to address basic interactional and conversational skills first, then focus on teaching perspective-taking and theory of mind skills.	Behavioral: social skill group; We plan to address basic interactional and conversational skills first, then focus on teaching perspective-taking and theory of mind skills.
Active Comparator: control group; Regular therapy	Behavioral: social skill group; We plan to address basic interactional and conversational skills first, then focus on teaching perspective-taking and theory of mind skills.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
GAS (Goal attainment scale)	interview caregivers about specific social interaction goals for the children and give rating 1-5 to calculate the extent to which a parent's goals are met.	the first week and the 15th week of the duration
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale	to assess the socialization skill of the children.	the first week and the 15th week of the duration

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Fu-Mei Chiang, MAMS, National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 19, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 27, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 27, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 3, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 16, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 18, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 16, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Autism,autism spectrum disorder,social skill training
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202006158RINA

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No