Effectiveness of Social Skills Training Group for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Interventions: Behavioral: social skill group

• Registration Number: NCT04551313
• Lead Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital

Brief Summary

Socio-communicative impairments are core deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD have difficulty understanding eye contact, facial expressions, body language, and different tones of voice when communicating with others. They can't interpret the thoughts and feelings of others, or predict social events, and the impaired social skills may lead to rejection of peers and poor participation in school.

Social skills training targets the core symptoms of ASD. Empirical support is building for cognitive-behavioral intervention approach, social skills training group for verbally fluent, school-aged children with ASD. Several studies have shown the efficacy of the social story intervention. It is usually provided individually, but we want to use it in the group.

Detailed Description

Many different intervention program have been used throughout the world. One alternative method used to teach children is the social stories method, which was created by Gray (1993) to address the social difficulties of children with ASD. The theoretical framework of the social stories is based on theory of mind (TOM) hypothesis. Difficulties associated with the impaired TOM was addressed by explaining the complex social concepts in simple words and often include the description of perspectives of others. Several studies have shown the efficacy of the social story intervention. It is usually provided individually, but we want to use it in the group.

In this study, we plan to randomly assign thirty-six 5-7-year-old children with ASD to one of two kinds of social skills groups: the social skills group or the play activities group (control condition). Group met for 16 weeks, one time per week, one hour each time. Participants were recruited between October 2020 and September 2023. Assessment were conducted at baseline and endpoint (16 weeks). To empower parents, we would also ask parents of participants to attend our treatment and lecture.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-09-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-09-10
• Study First Posted: 2020-09-16
• Study Start: 2020-10-19
• Primary Completion: 2022-07-27
• Study Completion: 2022-07-27
• Status Verified: 2023-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-08-16
• Last Update Posted: 2023-08-18

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 86

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
control group	social skill group	Regular therapy
social skill training group	social skill group	We plan to address basic interactional and conversational skills first, then focus on teaching perspective-taking and theory of mind skills.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
GAS (Goal attainment scale)	the first week and the 15th week of the duration	interview caregivers about specific social interaction goals for the children and give rating 1-5 to calculate the extent to which a parent's goals are met.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale	the first week and the 15th week of the duration	to assess the socialization skill of the children.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

National Taiwan University Hospital; 🇨🇳 Taipei, Taiwan

NTUH; 🇨🇳 Taipei, Taiwan