Effects of Social Skills Training for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Polish Adaptation of the PEERS® Intervention via Hybrid and In-Person Delivery
Polish PEERS works great in hybrid mode and keeps social gains six months later.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran the first Polish PEERS trial with 58 autistic teens .
Half got the 14-week social-skills program in person, half got it on Zoom with one live meet-up.
Parents joined separate groups to learn coaching tips in both modes.
Kids were tested before, after, and six months later on social knowledge, skills, and real-life hangouts.
What they found
Both groups scored way higher on social knowledge right after the course.
They also doubled how many peer get-togethers they hosted.
All gains stayed strong six months later.
Hybrid kids did just as well as fully in-person kids—tech did not water it down.
How this fits with other research
Nickerson et al. (2015) already showed PEERS helps parents feel calmer and more confident.
Platos adds that Polish families get the same teen gains even when half the sessions are on screen.
Saré et al. (2020) moved the idea forward to adults with JOBSS and found better job rates.
Together the three RCTs form a timeline: PEERS for teens, PEERS in hybrid form, and similar coaching for grown-ups.
Why it matters
You can run PEERS over Zoom without losing punch.
That means teens in rural areas, or families with tight schedules, can still get evidence-based social skills help.
Try keeping the parent group on the same screen night and watch homework completion rise.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The study examined the efficacy of the Polish adaptation of the PEERS® curriculum for adolescents on the autism spectrum. Twenty-nine adolescents (aged 11–16) were randomized into a Treatment and a Waitlist Control Group. Due to COVID-19-related restrictions, the Treatment Group received part of the intervention online (in hybrid mode). Results showed large effects of PEERS® increasing the teens’ social skills, knowledge about social skills, and the number of get-togethers with peers. Most of the effects were maintained over a six-month follow-up period. There was no impact of the delivery mode on the treatment effects. The study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of the Polish adaptation of PEERS® and encourages future research on the online/hybrid delivery of Social Skills Training. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10803-022-05714-9.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05714-9