Abstract
There is an extensive literature on methods for increasing the social awareness and social skills of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) of every diagnostic category and every age. This work varies in research quality from the mediocre to the exemplary, although the exemplary are outnumbered by the less rigorous. One reason for the focus on treating social behaviors is that qualitative impairments in social interaction are intrinsic to ASDs (APA 2000). To support people on the autism spectrum in learning sufficient social behavior to move with reasonable comfort within the wider “neurotypical” society, a great deal of work needs to be done by them and by us to help them master sufficient knowledge and skills to handle social encounters. Our teaching methods should be efficient and effective.
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Abbreviations
- ADHD:
-
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- ADI-R:
-
Autism Diagnostic Interview – revised
- ADOS:
-
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule
- ASDs:
-
Autism spectrum disorders
- CARS:
-
Childhood Autism Rating Scale
- CBT:
-
Cognitive behavioral therapy
- CGI:
-
Clinical global improvement
- DSM-IV-TR:
-
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition
- MBD:
-
Multiple baseline design
- NIMH:
-
National Institutes of Mental Health
- OCD:
-
Obsessive–compulsive disorder
- ODD:
-
Oppositional defiant disorder
- PCIT:
-
Parent–child interaction therapy
- PDD-NOS:
-
Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified
- RCT:
-
Randomized control trial
- RUPP:
-
Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology
- SRS:
-
Social Responsiveness Scale
- SSED:
-
Single subject experimental design
- SST:
-
Social skills training
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Ferraioli, S.J., Harris, S.L. (2011). Treatments to Increase Social Awareness and Social Skills. In: Reichow, B., Doehring, P., Cicchetti, D., Volkmar, F. (eds) Evidence-Based Practices and Treatments for Children with Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6975-0_6
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