An Investigation into Using a Social Skills Group to Improve the Social Communication Skills of Students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a Mainstream Post-Primary School in Ireland
Keywords:
Autism, ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Inclusion, Social Skills TrainingAbstract
The aim of this study was to investigate how a social skills group could be used to improve the social communication skills of students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a mainstream post-primary school in Ireland. In the literature, the need for social skills training was clearly defined and a particular focus was placed on the use of social skills groups. A social skills group could be incorporated into a school environment and it could potentially have a valuable part to play in a social skills training programme for any post-primary student with ASD. The researcher implemented action research in a mainstream post-primary school. The intervention involved making observations of the students’ social skills across a number of settings. The findings from the research study indicate improvements in the social skills of the target students with ASD.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), Washington, DC: Author.
Alberto, P. and Troutman A. (2009) Applied Behavioural Analysis for Teachers (8th ed.), London: Pearson Education Ltd.
Attwood, T. (2007) The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, London: Jessica Kingsley.
Baker, J. (2003) Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems, Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
Barnhill, G. P., Cook, K. Tapscott, T., Kelly, M. and Brenda S. (2002) The Effectiveness of Social Skills Intervention Targeting Nonverbal Communication for Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Related Pervasive Developmental Delays, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 17 (2), pp. 112-118.
Bauminger, N. (2007) Brief Report: Group Social-Multimodal Intervention for High Functioning ASD, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol.37 (8), pp. 1605-1615.
Beaumont, R. and Sofronoff, K. (2008) A Multi-Component Social Skills Intervention for Children with Asperger Syndrome: The Junior Detective Training Program, The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 49, pp. 743–753.
Cotugno, A.J. (2009) Social Competence and Social Skills Training and Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Journal of Autism Development Disorders, Vol.39 pp. 1268-1277.
Daly, P., Ring, E., Egan, M., Fitzgerald, J., Griffin, C., Long, S., McCarthy, E., Moloney, M., O’Brien, T., O’Byrne, A., O’Sullivan, S., Ryan, M. and Wall, E. (2016) An Evaluation of Education Provision for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Ireland, Trim: National Council for Special Education.
Department of Education and Science (1993) Report of the Special Education Review Committee, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (1999) Circular 08/99 Applications for FullTime or Part Time Resource Teacher Support to Address the Special Education Needs of Children with Disabilities, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (2001) Educational Provision and Support for Persons with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: the Report of the Task Force on Autism, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (2003) Circular SP ED 22/03 Allocation of Resources for Pupils with Special Needs in Primary Schools, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (2004) Circular 06/04 Appointment of Teachers to Cater for Students with Special Educational Needs, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (2005a) Circular SP ED 01/05 the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science (2005b) Circular SP ED 02/05 Organisation of Teaching Resources for Pupils who Need Additional Support in Mainstream Primary Schools, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Department of Education and Science Inspectorate (DESI) (2006) The Evaluation of the Educational Provision for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
DiSalvo, D. A., and Oswald, D. P. (2002) Peer-mediated Interventions to Increase the Social Interaction of Children with Autism: Consideration of Peer Expectancies, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol.17(4), pp.198–208.
Dotson, W.H., Leaf, J.B., Sheldon, J.B. and Sherman, J.A. (2010) Group Teaching of Conversational Skills to Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vol. 4 (2), p.199-209.
Government of Ireland (1998) Education Act, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Government of Ireland (2004) Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, Dublin: The Stationery Office.
Herbrecht, E, Poustka, F, Birnkammer, S, Duketis, E, Schlitt, S, Schmotzer, G, and Bolte, S. (2009) Pilot Evaluation of The Frankfurt Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. 18 (6), pp. 327-335.
Howlin, P., and Rutter, M., (1999) Treatment of Autistic Children. London: Wiley. Jones G. (2002) Educational Provision for Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome: Meeting their Needs, London: David Fulton Publications
Klin, A, Saulnier, C, Sparrow, S, Cicchetti, D, Volkmar, F, and Lord, C., (2007) Social and Communication Abilities and Disabilities in Higher Functioning Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Vineland and the ADOS, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Vol. 37(4), pp. 748-759.
Koenig, K, A, Cicchetti, D, Scahill, L, and Klin, A (2009) Group Intervention to Promote Social Skills in School-Age Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Reconsidering Efficacy, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders 39(8), pp. 1163-1172.
Laugeson, E. A. (2014) The PEERS Curriculum for School-Based Professionals: Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, New York: Routledge.
Laugeson, E., Ellingsen R., Sanderson, J., Tucci, L., and Bates, S. (2014) The ABC’s of Teaching Social Skills to Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom: The UCLA PEERS Program, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 44, 2244–2256.
MacKay, T, Knott, F, and Dunlop, A (2007) Developing Social Interaction and Understanding in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Groupwork Intervention, Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. Vol. 32 (4) pp. 279-290.
Mesibov, G. (1984) Social Skills Training with Verbal Autistic Teenagers and Adults: A Programming Model, Journal of Autism Development Disorders, Vol. 14, pp. 395-404.
Mesibov, G. and Howley, M. (2003) Accessing the Curriculum for Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Using the TEACCH Programme to Help Inclusion, London: Fulton.
National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) (2010) A Continuum of Support for Post-Primary Schools: Resource Pack for Teachers, Dublin: Author.
Ozonoff, S, & Miller, J (1995) Teaching Theory of Mind: A New Approach to Social Skills Training for Individuals with Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 25(4) pp. 415-433.
Parsons, S., Guldberg, K., MacLeod, A., Jones, G., Prunty, A., and Balfe, T., (2009) International Review of the Literature of Evidence of Best Practice Provision in the Education of Persons with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Trim: National Council for Special Education.
Prenderville, J., Prelock, P.A. and Unwin, G. (2006) Peer Play Interventions to Support the Social Competence of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vermony & Ohio: University of Vermont and University of Ohio.
Rao, P, Beidel, D, and Murray, M. (2008) Social Skills Interventions for Children with Asperger’s Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism: A Review and Recommendations, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Vol. 38(2), pp. 353-361.
Reichow, B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2010) Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with Autism: Evaluation for Evidence-Based Practices within a Best Evidence Synthesis Framework, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol.40, pp.149–166.
Rose, R. and Anketell, C. (2009) The Benefits of Social Skills Groups for Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study, Child Care in Practice, 15(2), pp. 127-144.
Solomon, M, Goodlin-Jones, B., and Anders, T. (2004) A Social Adjustment Enhancement Intervention for High Functioning Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Pervasive Development Disorder NOS, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Vol. 34 (6), pp. 649-668.
Tse, J, Strulovitch, J, Tagalakis, V, Meng, L, and Fombonne, E. (2007) Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Vol. 37 (10), pp. 1960-1968.
Ware, J., Balfe, T., Butler, C., Day, T., Dupont, M., Harten, C., Farrell, A., McDaid, R., O’Riordan, M., Prunty, A. and Travers, J. (2009) Research Report on the Role of Special Schools and Classes in Ireland, Trim: National Council for Special Education.
Webb, B, Miller, S, Pierce, T, Strawser, S, & Jones, W. (2004) Effects of Social Skill Instruction for High-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Focus on Autism & Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 19 (1), pp. 53-62.
White, S. W., Koenig, K. and Scahill, L. (2010) Group Social Skills Instruction for Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 25, pp. 209-219.
Wing, L. (2007) Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. In Cigman, R. (Ed.) Included or Excluded? The Challenge of Mainstream for Some SEN Children, London: Routledge, pp. 23–33.
Winter, E., and O’ Raw, P. (2010) Literature Review of the Principles and Practices Relating to Inclusive Education for Children with Special Educational Needs, Trim: National Council for Special Education.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Authors contributing to REACH: Journal of Inclusive Education in Ireland retain the copyright of their article and at the same time agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License allowing third parties to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:
- Attribution (BY): You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial (NC): You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives (ND): If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Learn more about Creative Commons licensing.
