Purpose: Youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit social skills deficits that inhibit their ability to navigate the complex social environment. For example, students with ASD are often unable to pick up nonverbal social cues and social prompts, and tend to display socially unacceptable behavior. Students are described as socially awkward, self-centered, or emotionally blunted. This interferes not only with their ability to succeed in school, but also with their successful transition to adulthood (e.g., employment). Research on existing social skills programs has been somewhat mixed but, in general, concludes that interventions delivered in more natural contexts and environments are associated with stronger maintenance and generalization of social skills. With funding from IES, the research team developed the Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A), a cognitive-behavior intervention approach that targets skills designed to promote self-monitoring and self-evaluation (e.g., recognizing feelings and emotions of self and others). The intervention is also designed to provide effective scaffolded instruction, building upon each skill, with maintenance of learned skills reinforced throughout by the use of repetition, integration, and feedback as new skills are added. SCI-A has demonstrated feasibility of implementation as well as promise for improving student outcomes, but the efficacy of the intervention has not yet been tested.

Project Activities: Middle schools in a suburban setting will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention condition or typical school services. The SCI-A intervention is comprised of five units, each consisting of six 45-minute lessons, delivered via small groups (four to six students per group). The units include: facial expressions, sharing ideas, turn-taking, recognizing feelings/emotions, and problem solving. They also include opportunities for students to practice skills in structured and naturalistic activities. Multiple measures will be used to assess student behavioral and academic outcomes. Researchers will also examine factors that moderate or mediate the impact of the intervention on student outcomes.

Products: The products of this project include evidence of the efficacy of the SCI-A intervention, published reports, and presentations.

Structured Abstract

Setting: The research will take place in 50 middle schools in a suburban setting.

Sample: A total of 300 sixth- through eighth-grade students who have been identified with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome will participate in this project.

Intervention: The SCI-A program was developed using a predominately cognitive-behavior intervention approach with a focus on phenotype-specific target skills designed to promote self-monitoring and self-evaluation. The curriculum is also designed to provide effective scaffolded instruction, building upon each skill, with maintenance of learned skills reinforced throughout by the use of repetition, integration, and feedback as new skills are added. The curricular units utilize a combination of didactic instruction, behavior modeling and rehearsal, and in-vivo practice with their group-mates as a means to teach and/or modify social behavior specific to students' needs. SCI-A includes training guidelines, lesson plans, and instructional materials. It consists of 22 hours of group intervention (four to six students per group) and is comprised of five units, each consisting of six 45-minute lessons. Units are taught in a specific sequence and the lessons within each unit follow a consistent structure of (a) reviewing a previously learned skill and introducing a new skill in an instructional and group discussion format, (b) skill modeling, (c) opportunities to practice the skill in structured and naturalistic activities, and (d) review activity. The units include: facial expressions, sharing ideas, turn-taking, recognizing feelings/emotions, and problem solving.

Research Design and Methods: This study will use a hierarchical cluster, randomized trial design where schools serve as the unit of randomization. Schools will be randomly assigned to the SCI-A intervention or a business-as-usual comparison group. The immediate and longer-term (i.e., 6 months following intervention) effects of SCI-A will be evaluated.

Control Condition: Students in the comparison group will receive instruction and services typically provided in the schools.

Key Measures: A variety of measures will be used to assess the impact of the intervention. Students will complete direct assessments of social problem solving and executive functioning, and will complete a neuropsychological assessment of social perception. Direct observations of classroom functioning will provide information regarding student classroom behaviors that rely on underlying abilities in perspective taking, emotion regulation, and executive functioning. The researchers will also administer a research team-developed progress-monitoring measure of student performance on the intervention's five instructional units. Teachers will complete measures of student social communication, social interaction, and executive functioning. In addition, a variety of measures will be used to assess fidelity and acceptability of the intervention.

Data Analytic Strategy: Multilevel structural equation modeling will be used to analyze the impact of SCI-A on students' social, behavioral, and classroom functioning.

Related IES Projects: Developing a School-based Social Competence Intervention (SCI) (R324A090060)

Products and Publications

Journal article, monograph, or newsletter

Kilgus, S. , Riley-Tillman, T.C., Stichter, J.P., Schoemann, A.M., and Bellesheim, K. (in press). Reliability of Direct Behavior Ratings - Social Competence (DBR-SC) Data: How Many Ratings Are Necessary?. School Psychology Quarterly.

Riley-Tillman, T.C., Stichter, J.P., Kilgus, S., Schoemann, A.M., and Owens, S.A. (under review). Examining the Concurrent Criterion-Related Validity of Direct Behavior Rating Measures of Social Competence. School Psychology Quarterly.