Parents Perceive Improvements in Socio-emotional Functioning in Adolescents with ASD Following Social Skills Treatment.
PEERS groups give parents clear teen gains in mood, flexibility, and daily living, even when emotion-reading tests stay flat.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McAuliffe et al. (2017) ran PEERS social skills groups for 14 teens with high-functioning autism. Parents filled out rating forms before and after the the study period. The team also gave short tests of emotion reading and daily living skills.
What they found
Parents saw big drops in teen anger, anxiety, and withdrawal. They also saw gains in leadership, adaptability, and home routines. Oddly, scores on face-reading tests did not budge.
How this fits with other research
Chan et al. (2018) got the same parent-reported social gains using a CBT-style group for Chinese teens. The match shows the result is not tied to one culture or manual.
Ahlborn et al. (2008) used Social Thinking lessons with younger kids and still saw strong behavior change. Together the studies trace a line: social-cognitive training works across age bands.
Ibrahim et al. (2021) went further, adding brain scans. After similar group lessons, 8- to young learners showed more medial prefrontal activity and real-life social gains. The neural data back up what parents keep reporting.
Why it matters
You now have three parent-friendly programs that give the same payoff: calmer, more flexible teens. Start with PEERS if you serve high-schoolers, but know you can swap in CBT or Social Thinking for younger or culturally diverse families. Track parent stress and home routines, not just face-reading scores, to see true change.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study examined the effectiveness of a social skills treatment (PEERS) for improving socio-emotional competencies in a sample of high-functioning adolescents with ASD. Neuropsychological and self- and parent-report measures assessing social, emotional, and behavioral functioning were administered before and after treatment. Following social skills treatment, adolescents with ASD exhibited decreased aggression, anxiety, and withdrawal, as well as improvements in emotional responsiveness, adaptability, leadership, and participation in activities of daily living, though no change was found in affect recognition abilities. These findings suggest that PEERS social skills treatment improves particular aspects of emotional, behavioral, and social functioning that may be necessary for developing and maintaining quality peer relationships and remediating social isolation in adolescents with ASD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2969-0