title: Evidence-Based Social Communication Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: Impairments in social communication skills are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and include deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, non-verbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships. In order to improve outcomes for children with ASD, much research has been focused on developing effective interventions to treat these social communication deficits. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the evidence-based practices found within the intervention literature that specifically targets social communication impairments and provide an overview of these strategies. Four relevant themes regarding evidence-based social communication interventions are considered and discussed: (a) social communication outcomes and practices relevant to different stages of development, (b) practices that both reduce interfering behaviors and improve social communication skills,
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. lbwatkins@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laci
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ledbetter-Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gevarter
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway, D5300, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D003147:Communication Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Evidence-based practice; Social communication skills