Brief report: group social-multimodal intervention for HFASD

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) significantly impacts social interaction and cognitive skills in children.
• Previous interventions have shown varying success in addressing social deficits in high-functioning (HF) individuals with ASD.
• A cognitive-behavioral-ecological (CB-E) framework offers a comprehensive approach to intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a 2-year group-centered CB-E intervention for HF children with ASD.
• To assess improvements in cooperative peer interaction during structured and unstructured social settings.
• To examine direct and indirect treatment effects on social cognitive capabilities, including theory of mind and executive function.

Main Methods:

• A group-centered intervention was implemented over two years.
• Participants included 26 preadolescent HF children diagnosed with ASD.
• Social interaction skills and social cognitive abilities were assessed throughout the intervention.

Main Results:

• The intervention demonstrated direct and indirect treatment effects on social cognition.
• Children's cooperative capabilities within the intervention group showed improvement.
• Dyadic and group social interactions during unstructured school recess did not significantly improve.

Conclusions:

• The CB-E group intervention shows promise for enhancing social cognition in HF children with ASD.
• Further research is needed to optimize interventions for improving real-world social interaction skills.
• Group-based interventions may be beneficial for specific aspects of social functioning in this population.