PhD defence S.B. (Sakinah) Idris

Summary:

Learning to take part in a larger society asks for knowledge, insight, learning opportunities (i.e. social interactions), which together gradually result in the development of social skills. In children, social communication skills are reflected in the ways that they (non-verbally) approach peers, (verbally) participate in conversations, retell previous experiences, and negotiate conflicts. The current thesis aims to first improve our knowledge on the social communication skills of adolescents classified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to subsequently investigate assumed improvements in social communication assessment and intervention in adolescents with ASD. This project was the first in the Netherlands to investigate the effectiveness of the parent-assisted social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD, called PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills). We translated PEERS® and minor cultural adjustments were made for practical cultural differences. We compared PEERS®, with an active treatment control condition, called ROAD (Regulation, Organization and Autonomy Didactics), while using a behavioural observational measure, and questionnaires from multiple informants. We found that the PEERS® intervention is an effective program for enhancing observable social skills amongst Dutch adolescents with ASD, but so is ROAD. Adolescents who received the PEERS® intervention did show larger improvements regarding their parent and self-report reported social skills. Teachers in both conditions reported decreased in social impairments. To further improve the observable social skills and self-confidence of adolescents with ASD, improvements in the delivery of these interventions in mental health care facilities are necessary (i.e., explore for whom, when and how the interventions work best to optimize the intervention programs manuals and professional training curricula).