Long-term outcomes of parent-assisted social skills intervention for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the long-term outcome of Children's Friendship Training, a parent-assisted social skills intervention for children. Prior research has shown Children's Friendship Training to be superior to wait-list control with maintenance of gains at 3-month follow-up. Participants were families of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who completed Children's Friendship Training 1-5 years earlier. They were recruited through mail, phone, and email. Information collected included parent and child completed questionnaires and a phone interview. Data were collected on 24 of 52 potential participants (46%). With an average of 35-month follow-up, participants had a mean age of 12.6 years. Results indicated that participants at follow-up were invited on significantly more play dates, showed less play date conflict, improved significantly in parent-reported social skills and problem behaviors, and demonstrated marginally significant decreases in loneliness when compared to pre-Children's Friendship Training.

Keywords: autism; children; follow-up; intervention; social skills.