A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Social Skills in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The UCLA PEERS(®) Program.
PEERS with caregiver help lifts social skills and real-world contact for high-functioning young adults with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a randomized trial of the UCLA PEERS program for young adults with autism. Caregivers joined every session to learn coaching skills they could use at home.
Participants met in small groups each week. They practiced real-life social tasks like starting talks, trading contact info, and handling teasing.
What they found
Young adults who got PEERS showed clear gains in social skills and social engagement. These gains mostly held up 16 weeks later.
Parents also saw fewer autism-related social problems after the program.
How this fits with other research
Gantman et al. (2012) ran a smaller pilot of the same PEERS plan and saw similar boosts, making the 2015 study a solid follow-up.
Wyman et al. (2020) seems to disagree: PEERS helped students with cognitive delays but not autistic students. The gap is about IQ and age, not the method. High-functioning young adults in the 2015 study had fewer learning issues, so they could use the skills more easily.
Nickerson et al. (2015) and Płatos et al. (2022) show PEERS also works for teens and for families outside the U.S., proving the model travels well.
Why it matters
If you serve verbal teens or young adults with ASD, PEERS gives you a ready-made group curriculum with parent support built in. Ask caregivers to sit in, assign weekly homework like phone or text invites, and track real get-togethers as your main outcome. The 16-week follow-up tells you to plan booster check-ins a few months later to keep skills alive.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research suggests that impaired social skills are often the most significant challenge for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet few evidence-based social skills interventions exist for adults on the spectrum. This replication trial tested the effectiveness of PEERS, a caregiver-assisted social skills program for high-functioning young adults with ASD. Using a randomized controlled design, 22 young adults 18-24 years of age were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 12) or delayed treatment control (n = 10) group. Results revealed that the treatment group improved significantly in overall social skills, frequency of social engagement, and social skills knowledge, and significantly reduced ASD symptoms related to social responsiveness following PEERS. Most treatment gains were maintained at a 16-week follow-up assessment with new improvements observed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2504-8