Development Of Interaction During A Social Skills Intervention Group For Emerging Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD):
a Case Study
Open Access
Author:
Tobin, Megan Colleen
Graduate Program:
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
July 31, 2014
Committee Members:
Kathryn D R Drager, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Kathryn D R Drager, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Erinn Heer Finke, Committee Member Pamela S Wolfe, Committee Member Carol Anne Miller, Committee Member
Keywords:
adults autism spectrum disorders social skills intervention conversation group
Abstract:
It has been proposed individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may benefit from social skills support across the lifespan; however little is currently known about how to best structure social skills instruction for adults with ASD. A biweekly social skills group employing a naturalistic instructional discourse approach was conducted with four emerging adults with ASD who attended a college-based inclusion program at a large state university. The intervention focused on developing participants' understanding of a partner’s expectations related to appropriate responding to questions, comments, and short response tokens. Sessions were transcribed verbatim and coded to support detailed analysis. Feedback was solicited from participants, the program teacher, and neurotypical (NT) peers to investigate the social validity of this intervention. A case study approach supported in-depth description of development over time in participant-to-participant interaction, participant involvement in social and instructional discussion, and participant attitude toward group activities. Emerging adults with ASD demonstrated an increased amount of contribution to group conversation and showed improvements in positive participant-to-participant interaction. Over the course of this group, social interaction time increased while instructional interaction time decreased. Implications for designing future group-based social skills interventions for emerging adults with ASD are discussed.
