Parent-Training Package to Teach Social Skills to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Area

Social dysfunction is a hallmark feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that significantly affects individuals with ASD regardless of cognitive or language functioning (Carter, Davis, Klin, & Volkmar, 2005). Social skills training for children with ASD that incorporate parent training has been found to produce improvements in greeting and play behaviors, as well as conversational skills (Radley, Jenson,Clark, & O'Neil, 2014). Perhaps the most critical element of any parent training program is generalization of skills from the clinic or school to the home setting (Matson, Mahan, & LoVullo, 2009). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects and consistency of the instructional methods self-guided manuals and in-vivo (live class) during parent trainings. The experimental design used was the alternating treatment design with four phases: Phase 1 baseline with parent and instructor, Phase 2 baseline with parent and child, Phase 3 in-vivo training with parent and instructor, and Phase 4 with self-guided manual parent and child. Three parent-child dyads meeting inclusion criteria were selected for the study. Adult participants will participate in two instructional methods, self-instructed manuals and in-vivo trainings, on teaching social skills to their child with ASD. The self-guided manuals and in-vivo training was compared to determine which is more effective for adult participants to utilize and complete. Results indicated the ease of implementation of procedures must be considered if parents are likely to use them. Involving parents in the implementation of this study shown effectiveness is understanding their child with ASD's potential for social independent living and to continue to provide opportunities for child with ASD to use the learned skills even after the completion of the study.