Commentary on Social Skills Training Curricula for Individuals with ASD: Social Interaction, Authenticity, and Stigma.

Bottema-Beutel et al. (2018) wrote a commentary, not a lab study. They read many social-skills curricula for autism. They asked, "Do these lessons help people look real and feel accepted?"

The team compared common rules: "make eye contact," "ask about the weather," "shake hands." They checked if these rules match how autistic adults say they want to relate.

The authors say scripted drills can backfire. Kids who follow the rules may look odd or fake to peers. Looking fake can invite more stigma, not less.

Families feel the sting too. When a child sounds robotic, classmates pull away. Parents then face courtesy stigma—blame for "bad training."

Mitter et al. (2019) found the same family stigma in a big review. Caregivers of autistic children reported shame and gossip from neighbors. Kristen’s warning lines up with these numbers.

Müller et al. (2008) asked autistic adults what helps. They wanted interest-based clubs, not rote scripts. Kristen cites this wish for authenticity as a reason to drop rule cards.

Jaffe et al. (2002) hoped virtual reality would fix generalization problems. Kristen replies that tech is fine, but goals must center real identity, not camouflage.

If you run social-skills groups, trade some rule drills for real shared activities. Let clients talk about trains, anime, or space while you coach in the moment. Check that goals feel true to them, not just polite to others.