The Development and Evaluation of a Social Skills Group Training for Australian Children on the Autism Spectrum
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Sponsor
- Curtin University
- Enrollment
- 84
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ)
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This study evaluates the KONTAKT social skills group training in Australian children on the autism spectrum compared to an active control group which is a group Art class
Detailed Description
KONTAKT is a manualized Social Skills Group Training program designed for children and adolescents with ASD which aims to improve communication, social interaction skills, reduce the severity of ASD symptoms, improve the ability to empathise and adapt in a group setting. A large randomized controlled trial in Sweden found that adolescents who participated in KONTAKT demonstrated improvements in social skills, behaviour, reduced stress and improved overall functioning as reported by parents immediately following and at three months after the program. However, social skills are at least in part influenced by social cultural contexts and there is a need to understand the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of KONTAKT in an Australian context. Moreover, in the previous studies, the social skills groups were compared to treatment as usual groups. Therefore, this study evaluates the KONTAKT social skills group training in Australian children on the autism spectrum compared to an active control group which is a group art class
Investigators
Sonya Girdler
Professor
Curtin University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Individuals aged 8 to 12
- •Clinical consensus diagnosis of ASD as defined by DSM-5 and confirmed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation schedule-2
- •IQ scores \> 70 as measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence - Second Edition (WASI-II)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Existing prior comorbid externalizing behaviours as assessed by the Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL).
- •Clinically assessed self-injurious behaviour • Low intrinsic motivation to participate in a social skills training group
- •Insufficient English language skills
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ)
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)
Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ), is a 23-item parent proxy questionnaire measuring the change in a child's social skills abilities. the measure is rated on a 3-point Likert scale from "worse than peers" to "Better than peers". Higher total scores show better outcome. This measure has been used with the ASD population before.
Change in the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)
The GOAL Attainment Scale will be used to measure if the participants have achieved the goals they have set for the program. Using the scale the children's primary outcome. Using the scale the participants personally meaningful social goals will be specified, and a behavioural expectation that ranges from the worst to the best possible outcome will be listed for each goal. This allows qualitative data to be quantified in relation to the success of the participant in achieving expectations of change. The achievement of these goals will be scored via the GAS scoring system of "-2" showing the participant's current level of performance, "-1" less than expected, "0" the expected progress, and "+1" and "+2" indicative of progress above the expected level
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in Treatment Inventory of Costs in Patients (TIC-P)(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Junior Temperament and characteristic Inventory (JTCI)(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36))
- Motivation to participate(Weekly through the intervention until post test time from week 1 to 20)
- International classification of functioning (ICF) - Autism coreset(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Change in the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D)(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Change in the Social responsiveness scale - Second Edition (SRS-2)(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Change in the LERID friendship questionnaire(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Change in the Social Interaction anxiety scale (SIAS)(Weekly through the intervention until post test time from week 1 to 20)
- Change in the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)(Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks))
- Change in the Negative Incidents and Effects of Psychological Treatment (NEQ)(Post-test (week 20))
- Treatment Satisfaction Scale(Post-test (week 20))