Benefits of a Social Skills Intervention in Residential Treatment Settings for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The UCLA PEERS Program

Background: Residential programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have helped adolescents and adults move toward greater independence from their families. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these programs in the areas of socialization, communication, and peer relations. The UCLA PEERS Program (Laugeson & Frankel, 2010), a social skills group intervention for high-functioning adolescents with ASD, teaches teens ecologically valid rules and steps of social etiquette that target the development and maintenance of friendships. In outpatient mental health settings, PEERS has been shown to increase social engagement and improve overall social skills and social responsiveness in teens and young adults with ASD  (Laugeson et al., 2009; Laugeson et al., 2011, Grantman et al., 2011), but the benefit of this evidence-based program is unknown in the residential treatment setting.

Objectives: This study seeks to examine the effectiveness of improving social functioning in high-functioning adolescents with ASD using the UCLA PEERS Program in a residential treatment setting. Whereas previous PEERS studies have examined parent- and teacher-assisted methods of social coaching, the current study examines the effectiveness of residential therapists as facilitators and social coaches.

Methods: Twelve adolescents with ASD ranging from 15-17 years of age (M = 16.33; SD = 0.87) residing within Village Glen Commons, a residential treatment facility for children and adolescents with ASD, participated in the study. The structure of the 14-week intervention included 60-minute sessions delivered once a week with an additional 30 minutes of behavioral rehearsal in the milieu. Adolescents and therapists completed a battery of psychosocial tests at pre- and post-intervention to assess social skills. Teen self-report measures included the Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge (TASSK; Laugeson & Frankel, 2009), Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS; Bukowski et al. 1994), Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale 2^nd Edition (PHS; Piers, Harris & Herzberg, 2002), and Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A; La Greca,. 1999). Therapist measures included the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantino, 2005), Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliott, 2008), and Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991).).

Results: Forthcoming results are expected to suggest that the UCLA PEERS program is effective in improving adolescent knowledge of social skills, self-esteem, and friendship quality according to teen self-report, while therapist report will reveal improvements in overall social skills and social responsiveness and decreased problem behaviors.

Conclusions: Assessment of overall social skill gains will be highlighted. Recommendations for how these findings might inform treatment in residential settings will be discussed.