Social skills interventions for children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: a narrative...

Deficits in social skills are the major symptoms of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Recently, various intervention methods targeting social skills of children and adolescents with HFASD have been developed. This study reviews related articles published within the last decade to provide a better understanding of the status and limitations of research in this field.

The Education Resources Information Center, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were used to search for peer-reviewed studies published between January 1, 2014 and July 13, 2024. After reasonable deletion exclusion criteria, 39 studies on social skills interventions for children and adolescents with HFASD were summarized.

Twenty-one intervention methods were examined in 39 studies. Four categories emerged according to the basic theories and implementation procedures of these 21 methods: methods rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), naturalistic intervention (NI), art therapy, and miscellaneous methods. Studies on methods based on CBT and NI have provided substantial evidence of the effectiveness of these two categories. Art therapy has also gained some empirical support, but not enough for an adequate conclusion. Miscellaneous methods lack sufficient empirical support, with most implemented without a control group. Moreover, only 10 among the 21 methods used randomized controlled trials, and the sample size of most studies was small.

We recommend methods based on CBT and NI when practitioners and caregivers select intervention methods for children and adolescents with HFASD. Further research with a larger sample size and a more rigorous design is necessary to validate the effectiveness of art therapy and miscellaneous methods.