Abstract
This study piloted a role play assessment of conversational skills for adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism/Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS). Participants completed two semi-structured role plays, in which social context was manipulated by changing the confederate’s level of interest in the conversation. Participants’ social behavior was rated via a behavioral coding system, and performance was compared across contexts and groups. An interaction effect was found for several items, whereby control participants showed significant change across context, while participants with HFA/AS showed little or no change. Total change across contexts was significantly correlated with related social constructs and significantly predicted ASD. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of the CASS in the evaluation of social skill.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 31, 5–17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471.
Bellack, A. S., Brown, C. H., & Thomas-Lohrman, S. (2006). Psychometric characteristics of role-play assessments of social skill in schizophrenia. Behavior Therapy, 37, 339–352. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2006.01.005.
Burgoon, J. K., & Hale, J. L. (1987). Validation and measurement of the fundamental themes of relational communication. Communication Monographs, 54, 19–41.
Burgoon, J. K., Stern, L. A., & Dillman, L. (1995). Interpersonal adaptation: Dyadic interaction patterns. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Connolly, J., Craig, W., Goldberg, A., & Pepler, D. (2004). Mixed-gender groups, dating, and romantic relationships in early adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 14, 185–207. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2004.01402003.x.
Constantino, J. N., & Todd, R. D. (2003). Autistic traits in the general population: A twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 524–530. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.5.524.
Constantino, J. N., Pryzbeck, T., Friesen, D., & Todd, R. D. (2000). Reciprocal social behavior in children with and without pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 21, 2–11.
Englund, M. M., Levy, A. K., Hyson, D. M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2000). Adolescent social competence: Effectiveness in a group setting. Child Development, 71(4), 1049–1060.
Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., & Hill, J. (2006). The Cambridge mindreading (CAM) face-voice battery: Testing complex emotion recognition in adults with and without Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(2), 169–183. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0057-y.
Graham, E. E. (1994). Relational communication scale. In R. B. Rubin, P. Palmgreen, & H. E. Sypher (Eds.), Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Hecht, M. L. (1978). Measures of communication satisfaction. Human Communication Research, 4, 350–368.
Kearsley, G. P. (1976). Questions and question asking in verbal discourse: A cross-disciplinary review. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 5, 355–375. doi:10.1007/BF01079934.
LePoire, B. A., & Yoshimura, S. M. (1999). The effects of expectancies and actual communication on nonverbal adaptation and communication outcomes: A test of interaction adaptation theory. Communication Monographs, 66, 1–30. doi:10.1080/03637759909376460.
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Jr., Levanthal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule—generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(3), 205–223.
Lord, C., Wagner, A., Rogers, S., Szatmari, P., Aman, M., Charman, T., et al. (2005). Challenges in evaluating psychosocial interventions for autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 695–708. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0017-6.
Matson, J. L., & Wilkins, J. (2007). A critical review of assessment targets and methods for social skills excesses and deficits for children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1, 28–37. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2006.07.003.
McDonald, S., Flanagan, S., Rollins, J., & Kinch, J. (2003). TASIT: A new clinical tool for assessing social perception after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 18, 219–238.
McDonald, S., Bornhofen, C., Shum, D., Long, E., Saunders, C., & Neulinger, K. (2006). Reliability and validity of the awareness of social inference test (TASIT): A clinical test of social perception. Disability and Rehabilitation, 28, 1529–1542.
McLaughlin, M. L., & Cody, M. J. (1982). Awkward silences: Behavioral antecedents and consequences of the conversational lapse. Human Communication Research, 8, 299–316. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1982.tb00669.x.
Mesibov, G. V., Shea, V., & Schopler, E. (2007). The TEACCH approach to autism spectrum disorders. New York, NY: Springer.
Paul, R. (2003). Promoting social communication in high functioning individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12, 87–106.
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 420–428.
Tree, J. E. F. (2002). Interpreting pauses and ums at turn exchanges. Discourse Processes, 34, 37–55. doi:10.1207/S15326950DP3401_2.
Tse, J., Strulovtich, J., Tagalakis, V., Meng, L., & Fombonne, E. (2007). Social skills training for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1960–1968. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0343-3.
Webb, B. J., Miller, S. P., Pierce, T. B., Strawser, S., & Jones, W. P. (2004). Effects of social skill instruction for high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19, 53–62. doi:10.1177/10883576040190010701.
Wechsler, D. (1999). Manual for the Wechsler abbreviated scales of intelligence. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
White, S. W., Keonig, K., & Scahill, L. (2007). Social skills development in children with autism spectrum disorders: A review of the intervention research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1858–1868. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0320-x.
Whitehurst, G. J. (1984). Interrater agreement for journal manuscript reviews. American Psychologist, 39, 22–28.
Williams, K. D., & Zadro, L. (2001). Ostracism: On being ignored, excluded, and rejected. In M. Leary (Ed.), Interpersonal rejection. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Woodbury-Smith, M. R., Robinson, J., Wheelwright, S., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2005). Screening adults for Asperger syndrome using the AQ: A preliminary study of its diagnostic validity in clinical practice. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 331–335. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-3300-7.
Acknowledgments
This project was part of a larger study, an investigation of social cognition and interaction training for adolescents for autism (SCIT-A) funded by Autism Speaks (Penn, PI, Turner-Brown, Co-PI; Grant #1949). Renee Clark of the Research Participant Registry Core of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, which is supported by the Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, provided recruitment resources. Joseph Piven, Ph.D. is the director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, which provided the infrastructure for this research project. Chris Weisen, Ph.D. of the Odum Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill provided statistical consulting. The following UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students served as research assistants: Paige Allmendinger, Bianca Brooks, Sierra Carter, Lauren Catalano, Alexis Georgeson, Ben Gootman, Tiffany Holung, Colin Iwanski, Caroline Oates, Anderson Shackleford, and Jeremy Weaver.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
These results were presented in part at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia, PA, May 2010.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ratto, A.B., Turner-Brown, L., Rupp, B.M. et al. Development of the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills (CASS): A Role Play Measure of Social Skill for Individuals with High-Functioning Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 1277–1286 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1147-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1147-z