A study into the measurability of the effect of the social skills training of the Autism Team Northern-Netherlands of Jonx (Lentis) in young adults with an autism spectrum disorder

Background and aim

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often encounter problems with social interactions, due to a lack of social skills. In order to improve these social skills, individuals with ASD are frequently offered social skills training (SST). Previous research into the effectiveness of SST for individuals with ASD have used heterogeneous measurement instruments, target audiences and outcome measures, all of which impede scientific assessment of the effectiveness of SSTs. The current study will research a broad spectrum of factors that can be affected by SSTs, as well as the measurability of these factors. Autisme Team Noord-Nederland (ATN) has developed a SST, aiming to support young adults (age 18-35) with ASD. The purpose of this paper is to review recent research to determine which outcome measures are most important and which measurement instruments are most suitable to determine the effectiveness of the SST of ATN for young adults with ASD.

Method

A systematic literature study was conducted to determine which outcome measures are important in establishing the effectiveness of the ATN SST, and which instruments can be used to assess these outcome measures. Additionally, to gain more insight into the outcome measures, qualitative in-depth interviews about their experience with the SST were conducted with two participants and three SST-trainers.

Results

Three outcome measures were found to be important: social skills, self-confidence and (severity of) ASD related symptoms. In literature, seven measurement tools for social skills were found: The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Social Skills Rating System, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy, Behavior Assessment System for Children and the Quality of Play Questionnaire. The SRS, Child Behavior Checklist and the Social Communication Questionnaire are suitable measurement tools to measure ASD related symptoms. To measure self-confidence, the SRS can be used.

Conclusions and recommendations

The current study has found the SRS most suitable for ATN to measure the effectiveness of their SST for young adults with ASD. This instrument measures the three important outcome measure in order to determine effectiveness of a SST, namely social skills, ASD related symptoms, and self-confidence.

Participants experience different problems with social communication and interaction. For this reason, it is advisable to set individual SST-goals for participants before the start of the training, and evaluate the individual goals afterwards. This includes satisfaction questionnaires with all these involved (e.g. participants, parents). Furthermore, an interview can be a valuable addition to the suggested questionnaires. This way, the SST can be adapted to suit the goals of each individual with ASD and be evaluated accordingly.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Skills Training, Efficacy

Supervised by

A.M.N. Huyghen

A.H. van Hoogmoed