Evaluating the Efficacy of the School-based Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A) with High Functioning Autism

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.