Abstract
This research is the first part of a 2-year cognitive-behavioral-ecological (CB-E) social skills training for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Current study examined efficacy of an individual CB-E intervention in facilitating children's dyadic interactions (immediately after treatment and 4 months later) and their social cognition capabilities (e.g., emotion understanding and recognition, social problem solving). Participants were 19 HFASD children aged 7 years and 7 months to 11 years and 6 months. Results demonstrated improvement in children's social cognition and positive dyadic interaction and decrease in children's low-level social interaction behavior. Long-term evaluation revealed maintenance of improvement. Progress in children's cooperation, self-control, and assertiveness was reported by their teachers. Discussion focused on CB-E intervention efficacy in promoting integral social functioning for HF children with ASD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1593-1604 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2007 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgement This research was supported by a grant from the Israel Foundation Trustees. Special thanks are extended to Chani Kfir for coordinating the project, to Hadar Dadush for her cooperation in the development of the group program, to Efrat Orbach-Caspi, Limor Sasson, and Galit Agam for their help in data collection, and to Dee B. Ankonina for her editorial contribution. My gratitude is also extended to the children and families, school principals, and teachers who participated in the study and made this intervention possible.
Keywords
- Asperger syndrome
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- High-functioning children with autism
- Social skill intervention