Abstract
The Program for the Evaluation of the Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), a social skills intervention for high functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has been proven efficacious in randomized control trials. However, the effectiveness of the PEERS program in community settings has not been studied. The present small-scale pilot study examined the effectiveness of the PEERS program in a community setting. Five adolescents and their caregivers participated in the PEERS intervention. Results indicated that the adolescents showed significant improvement in their social engagement, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, and knowledge of PEERS skills and concepts from pre- to post-intervention. Furthermore, adolescents showed significant reductions in their internalizing and autistic symptoms from pre- to post-intervention. The findings from this small-scale pilot study support the effectiveness of the PEERS program in community-based settings.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Claire Burns and Morgan Sexton for serving as coaches in the treatment sessions and assisting with monitoring treatment fidelity.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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During the in-person intake session and prior to the completion of pre-test measures, consent and assent forms were reviewed and completed with interested participants.
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Trenesha Hill declares that she has no conflict of interest. Sarah Gray declares that she has no conflict of interest. Courtney Baker declares that she has no conflict of interest. Koren Boggs declares that she has no conflict of interest. Elizabeth Carey declares that she has no conflict of interest. Corinn Johnson declares that she has no conflict of interest. Jodi Kamps declares that she has no conflict of interest. R. Enrique Varela declares that he has no conflict of interest.
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Hill, T.L., Gray, S.A.O., Baker, C.N. et al. A Pilot Study Examining the Effectiveness of the PEERS Program on Social Skills and Anxiety in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Dev Phys Disabil 29, 797–808 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-017-9557-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-017-9557-x