Brief Report: measuring the effectiveness of teaching social thinking to children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA).
This is the first report from a large multiple baseline single-subject design study of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This brief report examines effectiveness of teaching a social cognitive (Social Thinking) approach to six males with Asperger syndrome (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA). Data included are restricted to pre- post-treatment comparisons of verbal and non-verbal social behaviors. Structured treatment and semi-structured generalization sessions occurred over eight weeks. Results indicated significant changes from pre- to post- measures on both verbal/nonverbal "expected" and "unexpected" behaviors, significant increases in the subcategories of "expected verbal", "listening/thinking with eyes", and "initiations", and robust decreases in the subcategories of "unexpected-verbal" and "unexpected-nonverbal". Importance of social cognitive approaches for children AS and HFA is discussed.
Crooke
Pamela J
PJ
Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. pam.crooke@sjsu.edu
Hendrix
Ryan E
RE
Rachman
Janine Y
JY
D000293:Adolescent; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D013663:Teaching; D013850:Thinking