If social skills are an important component of human development and individuals with autism often have challenges in learning social skills, there must be a curriculum that lets specialists of all backgrounds teach these important lessons, right? Well, maybe? This week we look at what actual research there is behind commercially-available curricula for teaching social skills and highlight a few of the more promising programs.

Articles discussed this episode:

Bellini, S., Peters, J.K., Benner, L., & Hope, A. (2007). A meta-analysis of school-based social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 153-162. doi: 10.1177/07419325070280030401

Hall, L.J., Leinert, S., & Jacquez, J. (2018). A review of social skill manuals for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 5, 77-88. doi: 10.1007/s40474-018-0134-5

Stichter, J.P., O’Connor, K.V., Herzog, M.J., Lierheimer, K., & McGhee, S.D. (2012). Social competence intervention for elementary students with aspergers syndrom and high functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 354-366. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1249-2

Laugeson, E.A., Frankel, F., Gantman, A., Dillon, A.R., & Mogil, C. (2012). Evidence-based social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: The UCLA PEERS program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1025-1036. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1339-1

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