title: Development of the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills (CASS): a role play measure of social skill for individuals with high-functioning autism.
abstract: This study piloted a role play assessment of conversational skills for adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism/Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS). Participants completed two semi-structured role plays, in which social context was manipulated by changing the confederate's level of interest in the conversation. Participants' social behavior was rated via a behavioral coding system, and performance was compared across contexts and groups. An interaction effect was found for several items, whereby control participants showed significant change across context, while participants with HFA/AS showed little or no change. Total change across contexts was significantly correlated with related social constructs and significantly predicted ASD. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of the CASS in the evaluation of social skill.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, CB#3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA. bassetta@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Allison B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ratto
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Turner-Brown
authors.forename: Betty M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Rupp
authors.forename: Gary B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Mesibov
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Penn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012919:Social Behavior; D056345:Theory of Mind; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult