BACKGROUND: Interventions for social difficulties have not been investigated in the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) population despite observations of elevated rates of social difficulties. In this pilot study, the effectiveness of a 14-week telehealth PEERS® intervention with nineteen adolescents with NF1 (Mage=13.79 years, SD = 1.32) with social skills difficulties was examined. Measures of social outcomes were completed at three timepoints (before, immediately after, and at 14-week follow-up).
RESULTS: Caregiver-reported social-emotional skills, social impairment, caregiver-reported number of adolescent get-togethers, and teen social knowledge showed significant improvement following the intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: The PEERS® intervention is promising to support the social and friendship skills of adolescents with NF1 who have social difficulties.

UNASSIGNED: Social differences characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities are evident in early childhood and are associated with later difficulties. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of evidence-based interventions explicitly targeting social skills development for young children, few actively integrate parents and caregivers, and even fewer have remote models. The importance of providing accessible, tailored services for families in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the creation of a parent-mediated telehealth version of Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Preschoolers (P4P), a pre-existing, evidence-based social skills intervention for children 4-6 years focused on making and keeping friends.
UNASSIGNED: This methodological paper documents the implementation, feasibility, and satisfaction of a novel telehealth group-based delivery of P4P.
UNASSIGNED: Qualitative results indicate acceptable feasibility and satisfaction. Additionally, following completion there was an increase in parental confidence in social coaching and increased use of child social skills.
UNASSIGNED: Future work will evaluate quantitative outcomes and comparisons between delivery methods (e.g., telehealth vs. in-person).

暂无摘要。

Social challenges are common for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or mild intellectual impairment, yet few evidence-based interventions exist to address these challenges. PEERS®, the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills, has been shown to be effective in improving the social skills of young adults with ASD; however, it requires a significant time commitment for parents of young adults. As such, this mixed-methods study aimed to investigate the experiences of young adults, parents and PEERS® social coaches participating in an adapted PEERS® program, and to evaluate its acceptability and efficacy.
Young adults with ASD and/or mild intellectual impairment participated in a 16-week PEERS® program. Parents and PEERS® social coaches attended fewer, condensed sessions, where they learnt program content to support the young adults\' social skill development at home and in the community. Focus groups were conducted post intervention. Quantitative pre-post assessment using the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, the Test of Young Adult Social Skills Knowledge, and Quality of Socialization Questionnaire-Young Adults was completed by young adults. The Social Responsiveness Scale Second Edition was completed by young adults and their parents.
Qualitative results revealed that, taken together, young adults, parents and PEERS® social coaches all felt that the adapted PEERS® program was \'challenging, but worth it\'. The program was acceptable with a 93% attendance rate across all sessions. Whilst young adults\' perceptions of their own social functioning did not change post-intervention, their knowledge of social skills content improved significantly (p < 0.05). Parent perceptions of young adults\' social responsiveness also improved (p < 0.05).
Social skill knowledge, social responsiveness, and social engagement improved significantly following the completion of the adapted PEERS® program. It was deemed acceptable and worthwhile by young adults, their parents and PEERS® social coaches.

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a worldwide transition to providing online services overnight, highlighting the urgent need for empirically supported telehealth interventions. The current study examined the effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth, an adaptation from the original social skills intervention developed for in-person provision, among 22 autistic adolescents and their caregivers. To evaluate the intervention, caregivers completed questionnaires assessing core autistic features and frequency of get-togethers. Adolescents completed questionnaires measuring social knowledge and frequency of get-togethers. Improvements in social skills knowledge, increased get-togethers, and decreased core autistic symptoms were evident. Preliminary results suggest PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth improves social competence, as found for the in-person version. Further research exploring the equivalence of telehealth to in-person social skills intervention is recommended.

This study examines the effectiveness of the culturally adapted Dutch version of The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), utilizing a randomized control trial (RCT) with an active treatment control condition.
106 adolescents with ASD, aged 12-18 years, were randomly assigned to one of two group interventions: the experimental condition (PEERS®; n = 54) or the active treatment control condition (Regulation, Organization and Autonomy Didactics; ROAD; n = 52). Effects of interventions on social skills were primarily assessed using an observational measure (CASS - Contextual Assessment Social Skills). Secondary indices of social skills were self, parent and teacher reported questionnaire data (i.e., Social Responsiveness Scale; SRS, and Social Skills Improvement System; SSIS). Treatment satisfaction was also obtained from adolescents and their parents.
Results on the observational measure of social skills revealed improvements in positive affect, overall quality of rapport, as well as starting and ending a conversation, irrespective of condition. Compared to ROAD, PEERS® participants showed increased overall self-reported social skills (SSIS). Parent reports showed decreased overall social skill impairment (SRS) as well as improved social communication (SSIS subscale), with significantly more progress in the PEERS® group. Furthermore, parents of adolescents in the PEERS® group were significantly more satisfied with the intervention (M = 8.20, SD = 1.46) than parents of adolescents in the ROAD group (M = 7.52, SD = 1.45). The self-reported treatment satisfaction of adolescents did not differ between conditions. Teacher data showed decreased social skill impairment as measured with the SRS, irrespective of condition.
This study reveals promising indications that the Dutch version of PEERS® enhances social skills in adolescents with ASD. Yet, further research is needed into how effectiveness can be optimized.
Dutch trail register NTR6255 (NL6117) 08/02/2017 https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6117.

Evidence-based social skills interventions for young adults are limited, despite social difficulties in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) persisting after transition to adulthood. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS®-YA) is an evidence-based intervention found to be effective in improving relational skills in young adults with ASD. To translate the original American version of the PEERS®-YA treatment manual into Korean, intensive interviews were performed. Based on results from interviews, several rules of dating etiquette and social activities were modified to be culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate. Next, young adults diagnosed with ASD (18-35 years of age; IQ > 70) and their social coaches were recruited for the randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were randomly assigned either to a treatment group (TG; n = 19) or a delayed treatment group (DTG; n = 18). In the analysis of group differences in the TG and DTG, social skills knowledge was improved. The within group analyses showed positive effects of improving social skills knowledge on reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. After modest cultural adaptations focusing on dating and social activities, the implementation of the PEERS®-YA-K was found feasible for the Korean community. This is one of only a few cross-cultural validation trials establishing evidence-based treatment in young adults with ASD. Clinical Trial Registration: This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03310775.

Although parent-assisted social skills interventions may reduce early social challenges in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), limited research has explored whether intervention gains maintain several years after treatment. This study examined the durability of PEERS® for Preschoolers, a parent-mediated social skills training program for preschool-aged children with ASD and other social challenges. Twenty-nine parents reported on child and family outcomes 1-5 years following treatment. Results demonstrated maintenance of treatment gains on measures of ASD-related social impairments including social communication, social responsiveness, social motivation, and peer engagement. Post-treatment improvements in problem behaviors and parenting stress were not maintained at long-term follow-up. Implications of these results are discussed.

The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) was used to provide weekly social skills training to a group of 10 college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) between ages 18 and 26 attending an inclusive residential postsecondary college program. Additionally, Circles curriculum was used to supplement the PEERS curriculum for teaching social relationship boundaries. An average of 12 sessions per semester of PEERS® training sessions were conducted over each academic year. The present study examines the impact of the program on social skills, friendship qualities, and conversational skills. Results showed increased social skill knowledge, friendship quality, and conversational skills from pretest to posttest intervention. In this paper, we discuss the training program, results, implications for practice, limitations, and future research needs.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition that affects social communication and behavior. There is consensus that neurological differences are present in ASD. Further, theories emphasize the mixture of hypo- and hyper-connectivity as a neuropathologies in ASD [O\'Reilly, Lewis, & Elsabbagh, 2017]; however, there is a paucity of studies specifically testing neurological underpinnings as predictors of success on social skills interventions. This study examined functional neural connectivity (electroencephalogram [EEG], coherence) of adolescents with ASD before and after the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) intervention, using a randomized controlled trial of two groups: an Experimental ASD (EXP) Group and a Waitlist Control ASD (WL) Group. The study had two purposes. First, the study aimed to determine whether changes in EEG coherence differed for adolescents that received PEERS® versus those that did not receive PEERS®. Results revealed a significant increase in connectivity in the occipital left to temporal left pair for the EXP group after intervention. Second, the study aimed to determine if changes in EEG coherence related to changes in behavior, friendships, and social skills measured by questionnaires. At post-intervention, results indicated: (a) positive change in frontal right to parietal right coherence was linked to an increase in social skills scores; and (b) positive changes in occipital right to temporal right coherence and occipital left to parietal left coherence were linked to an increase in the total number of get-togethers. Results of this study support utilizing neurobehavioral domains as indicators of treatment outcome. Lay Summary: This study examined how well various areas of the brain communicate in adolescents with ASD before and after a social skills intervention. Results revealed increased connectivity in the adolescents that received the intervention. Secondly, the study aimed to determine if changes in connectivity of brain areas related to changes in behavior, friendships, and social skills. Results indicated that changes in connectivity were also linked to increased social skills. Autism Res 2021, 14: 787-803. © 2021 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.