A Pilot Study on Efficacy of a Play-Based Social Skills Training Group for First-Grade Elementary Children with Autism in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

A social skills training has previously resulted in positive improvements in social skills among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This pilot study developed a play-based social skills training protocol for first-grade elementary children with ASD in Taiwan and determined its efficacy. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, this study recruited seven first-grade elementary children with ASD aged 6–7 years. Seven children enrolled in a regular classroom participated in a 12-week play-based social skills training program which was led by an occupational therapist. The improvement of social skills was evaluated by occupational therapists through video coding and goal attainment scales. Caregivers and teachers were asked to complete the communication and socialization domains of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Third Edition. The results showed significant improvements in the children’s social skills performance between the pretest and posttest based on video coding and goal attainment scale. Significant improvements in the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Third Edition growth scale values of receptive and written language subdomains were observed. This study established an intervention protocol for first-grade children with ASD that could be used as a guide by clinical professionals who work with children with ASD who experience problems adapting to elementary school.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• social skills training
• first-grade children
• school adjustment

Research Ethics Section and Patient Consent

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of National Cheng Kung University Hospital (A-BR-109-011). Written informed consent was obtained from the parents before enrolling their child in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by Higher Education Sprout Project, Ministry of Education to the Headquarters of University Advancement at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).