Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities - Division on ...

Target Behaviors
A number of social behaviors were targeted
across the studies; many studies targeted more
than one behavior. Ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g conversation
<strong>and</strong>/or appropriate social behavior was targeted
<strong>in</strong> 28 studies, 17 studies targeted <strong>in</strong>itiat<strong>in</strong>g
conversations or social behavior (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g
greet<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>and</strong> requests), 5 studies targeted
<strong>in</strong>itiat<strong>in</strong>g play. Eight studies targeted appropriate
play skills (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g turn-tak<strong>in</strong>g), two
studies targeted eye contact, <strong>and</strong> two studies
targeted perspective-tak<strong>in</strong>g.
Research Designs
The vast majority of studies (31) utilized a
multiple basel<strong>in</strong>e design. Twenty-four studies
were conducted across participants, six studies
were conducted across behaviors, three studies
were conducted across sett<strong>in</strong>gs, three studies
were conducted across other <strong>in</strong>dividuals,
<strong>and</strong> two studies were conducted across tasks.
Some of the studies were conducted across
multiple categories with<strong>in</strong> the study.
Of the other seven studies, five utilized the
ABAB or reversal design, <strong>and</strong> two studies utilized
the group experimental design. Both of
the experimental studies followed a pre-posttest
format with a control group.
Outcome Measures across Interventions
Social Stories. Six studies used Social Stories
to teach social skills. The PND scores ranged
from 46.7% to 100% with a mean of 67.21%,
which represents questionable effectiveness as
an <strong>in</strong>tervention accord<strong>in</strong>g to Scruggs <strong>and</strong> Mastropieri
(1998). Although Social Stories met
the criteria for evidence-based practice accord<strong>in</strong>g
to Horner et al. (2005), the effectiveness
of Social Stories as an <strong>in</strong>tervention for
improv<strong>in</strong>g social skills is questionable due to
the low PND scores.
Peer Mediated. A total of n<strong>in</strong>e studies <strong>in</strong> this
review used peer mediated strategies. The
PND scores ranged from 35.09% to 100% with
a mean of 60.69%, which represents low to
questionable effectiveness. Twenty-four participants
were <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> these studies. The
studies were conducted by 25 researchers
across n<strong>in</strong>e geographic areas. However, the
effectiveness of peer mediated strategies to
improve social skills <strong>in</strong> children with autism
rema<strong>in</strong>s to be questionable due to the low
PND scores.
Video Model<strong>in</strong>g. There were eleven studies
used video model<strong>in</strong>g to teach social skills. The
PND scores ranged from 50% to 100% with a
mean of 84.25%, which represents effective
<strong>in</strong>tervention. Video Model<strong>in</strong>g met the criteria
for evidence-based <strong>in</strong>tervention <strong>and</strong> its PND
scores shows that it is an effective <strong>in</strong>tervention
for teach<strong>in</strong>g social skills to children with
autism.
Cognitive Behavioral <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong>. Three studies
were <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> this category to exam<strong>in</strong>e
the effects of cognitive behavior tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g on
social skills, two of which were group experimental
designs. We used available data reported
<strong>in</strong> the orig<strong>in</strong>al studies to obta<strong>in</strong> the
effect size due to the absence of such results <strong>in</strong>
the orig<strong>in</strong>al studies. The effect size for Lopata
et al (2006) ranged from .59-.24 <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g
moderate to mild effects, while the effect size
for Baumr<strong>in</strong>ger (2002) ranged from 1.24-.47
<strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g high to moderate effects. The third
study used a multiple basel<strong>in</strong>e across sett<strong>in</strong>gs
design. The PND for <strong>in</strong>tervention was calculated
at 100%, which is very promis<strong>in</strong>g. However,
more studies are needed to confirm the
efficacy of cognitive behavioral tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g.
Others. In this category, most of the <strong>in</strong>terventions
were represented by only one study,
i.e. pivotal response tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g (n 1), Theory
of M<strong>in</strong>d (ToM, n 1), scripts <strong>and</strong> cue cards
(n 2), Keys to Play (n 1), <strong>in</strong>cidental
teach<strong>in</strong>g (n 1), PECS tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g (n 1),
tactile prompt<strong>in</strong>g device (n 1) <strong>and</strong> social
skills tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g with scripts <strong>and</strong> re<strong>in</strong>forcement
(n 1). Even though some of the studies
reported fairly promis<strong>in</strong>g PND scores, (e.g.
ToM PND 80.77%, <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g an effective
<strong>in</strong>tervention), more studies are needed with
more participants <strong>and</strong> by different researchers
to further evaluate their effectiveness as
evidence-based <strong>and</strong> effective <strong>in</strong>terventions.
Intervention Ma<strong>in</strong>tenance <strong>and</strong> Generalization
Effects
Twelve out of 36 studies reported the ma<strong>in</strong>tenance
effects of the <strong>in</strong>tervention. The PND
scores ranged from 38% to 100%, with a mean
of 78.5%. N<strong>in</strong>e studies reported the generalization
effects of the <strong>in</strong>tervention. The PND
Evidence-Based Social Skills Interventions / 337