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. 2022 Dec;52(12):5491-5499.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05666-0. Epub 2022 Jul 23.

Brief Report: A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth for Autistic Adolescents

Elyse J Adler  1 , Hillary K Schiltz  2   3 , Danielle M Glad  4 , Sarah A Lehman  2 , Sara K Pardej  4 , Rachel E Stanley  2 , Amy V Van Hecke  2
Affiliations

Brief Report: A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth for Autistic Adolescents

Elyse J Adler et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Adolescent; Autism; Autistic; COVID-19; PEERS®; Social skills; Telehealth.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CONSORT recruitment diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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