A social skills group for autistic children.
A short teacher-run social skills group in school can help autistic students, but longer RCT-tested versions give surer results.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A teacher ran a 10-week social skills group inside a school integration unit.
All students had autism and were between 9 and 16 years old.
Teachers filled out a questionnaire before and after the group to look for changes.
What they found
Teachers reported that the students’ social skills improved after the 10-week group.
The study did not use a control group, so we cannot be sure the group caused the change.
How this fits with other research
Carson et al. (2017) and U et al. (2018) later ran 24- to 32-week groups with random assignment.
Both found large parent-rated gains, giving stronger proof than the 1989 teacher-only trend.
Menezes et al. (2021) pooled 18 school studies and agreed: peer-inclusive groups work.
Together these papers supersede the early hint with firmer, longer-lasting evidence.
Why it matters
The 1989 paper was a first step that showed a simple teacher-run group can fit inside a busy school day.
Today you can borrow that setup but stretch it longer, add peer partners, and track data with parent and teacher scales to get the clearer gains seen in newer RCTs.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The evolution and preliminary evaluation of a social skills training group for 10 autistic children aged between 9 and 16 years was described. These children attended a special unit which aimed to integrate them into normal school provision. The paper consists of a description of the evolution of the group and the training methods employed and an evaluation of the effect of the group. This was accomplished by the use of a standard teacher's questionnaire. The results of the evaluation are described and the implications for further study of this means of helping autistic individuals discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1989 · doi:10.1007/BF02212726