Learning How to Make Friends for Chinese Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Hong Kong Chinese Version of the PEERS® Intervention.

Shum et al. (2019) ran a 14-week parent-help PEERS® group in Hong Kong. Teens with autism and their parents met once a week to practice greetings, two-way talk, and handling teasing.

The team used a coin-flip design. Half the families started right away; the others waited. All teens had normal-range IQ and spoke Cantonese.

Coaches used role-play, homework, and parent tips. They checked if skills, manners, and friendship quality changed.

Right after class, teens who took PEERS® knew more social rules and had better social scores. Parents also saw fewer autistic habits like odd speech.

Three months later the gains stuck. When the wait-list group finally got the class, they improved the same way.

The study shows the Chinese version works as well as the original English program.

Estabillo et al. (2022) later showed PEERS® works on Zoom too. Their teens gained the same social skills without riding to clinic, so the content—not the room—drives change.

Lao et al. (2024) tried the same idea in Mandarin. They ran a small before-after test and also saw gains. Their open design does not replace the Hong Kong RCT, but it keeps the line moving.

McCabe (2013) warned that China often picks quantity over quality. Kar-Man et al. answer that call by bringing an evidence-based program and testing it the hard way.

You now have proof that PEERS® keeps its power after full cultural translation. If you serve Chinese-speaking teens, you can run the 14-week plan with confidence. Add the parent sheets in Chinese, keep the homework, and watch for the same gains in friendship knowledge and daily social ease.