Social competence and social skills training and intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The team ran a 30-week social skills group for children with autism. They met each week and practiced greeting, sharing, and joining play.

Before and after the program, staff gave the kids standard social-skills tests. No control group was used.

Scores on the tests went up after the 30 weeks. Parents and teachers also saw better joint attention and flexible play.

The study says the gains were “significant,” but it does not give numbers or effect sizes.

Carson et al. (2017) and U et al. (2018) later ran similar groups with wait-list controls. Both found large, lasting gains, so their stronger designs now sit on top of this 2009 pilot.

Deckers et al. (2016) and Chester et al. (2019) shortened the dose to eight weeks and still saw medium gains. They show you can trim the calendar yet keep the benefit.

Menezes et al. (2021) looked at 18 school studies and concluded: peer-involved groups in regular classrooms work. The 2009 program fits that theme, even though it ran outside regular class time.

The paper gives early proof that a long, steady group can move social scores for elementary kids with ASD. Newer RCTs now give you firmer ground, but the 30-week plan is still a usable blueprint. If you run a social group, borrow the weekly structure, mix in peer models, and track data each month to be sure the needle is moving.