Social Tools And Rules for Teens (The START Program): Program Description and Preliminary Outcomes of an Experiential Socialization Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Carter et al. (2016) built a 10-week program called START for teens with autism. Teens met in groups to practice real-life social scenes. Each session mixed short lessons with games, role-play, and peer feedback.

Staff tracked how teens talked during live conversations and asked parents for ratings. The team wanted to see if START could boost social competence.

Parents and observers both saw teens improve. Kids kept more back-and-forth talk going and needed fewer prompts. The gains showed up right after the program ended.

No teen lost skills, and most said the group felt fun, not like school.

START continues a line that began with Bailey (1984) and Williams (1989). Those early studies also used group practice for autistic teens and saw positive changes. START adds more hands-on activities and parent reports.

Ayvazo et al. (2024) took a different path. They gave just three teens a daily two-minute video plus self-monitoring cards. Both studies show gains, proving you can help social skills with either a big group program or a tiny daily tool.

Koegel et al. (2024) went further by looping parents and teachers into the plan. Their teens improved in only six to seven weeks. START shows a group-only plan still works, but the newer study says adding home and school teams may speed things up.

If you run social-skills groups for middle or high-schoolers, START gives you a ready-made 10-week map. Mix quick teaching with fun practice and track real conversations. You can lift the whole plan or borrow pieces like the peer feedback rounds. If time is tight, pair self-monitoring videos from Ayvazo et al. with Koegel’s home-school teamwork for a faster boost.