Despite the impact of social disability on the lives of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), we know little about how to assess clinical improvement in this domain. This is a preliminary study of the potential utility and sensitivity of a novel observational rating system, the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills (CASS), as a treatment outcome measure with cognitively unimpaired adults with ASD. Five cognitively unimpaired adults with ASD completed the CASS, before and after a group social skills intervention. Based on ratings made by evaluators masked to assessment (pre-treatment or post-treatment), reliable change indices were computed to assess improvement. Four participants demonstrated significant improvement in conversational involvement, two initiated significantly more topic changes, and one asked more questions. Laboratory-based observational measures, such as the CASS, may be useful in clinical trials for adults with ASD, though further evaluation with larger samples is required.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
BelliniS.PetersJ. K.BennerL.HopfA. (2007). A meta-analysis of school-based social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 153–162. doi:10.1177/07419325070280030401
3.
BillstedtE.GillbergC.GillbergC. (2005). Autism after adolescence: Population-based 13- to 22-year follow-up study of 120 individuals with autism diagnosed in childhood. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 351–360. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-3302-5
4.
ConstantinoJ. N.GruberC. P. (2005). Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
5.
ConstantinoJ. N.GruberC. P. (2012). Social Responsiveness Scale–Second edition (SRS-2). Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.
6.
CunninghamA. B. (2011). Measuring change is social interaction skills of young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 593–605. doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1280-3
7.
EavesL. C.HoH. L. (2008). Young adult outcome of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 739–747. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-04410x
8.
GantmanA.KappS. K.OrenskiK.LaugesonE. A. (2012). Social skills training for young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1094–1103. doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1350-6
9.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N. (1990). Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
10.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N. (2008). Social Skills Improvement System–Rating Scales manual. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.
11.
HauckM.FeinD.WaterhouseL.FeinsteinC. (1995). Social initiations by autistic children to adults and other children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25, 579–595. doi:10.1007/BF02178189
12.
JacobsonN. S.TruaxP. (1991). Clinical significance: A statistical approach to defining meaningful change in psychological research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 12–19. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.59.1.12
13.
KasariC.Rotheram-FullerE.LockeJ. (2005). The development of the playground observation of peer engagement (POPE) measure. Unpublished manuscript, University of California Los Angeles.
14.
KaufmanA. S.KaufmanN. L. (2004). Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test–Second edition. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
15.
KreiserN. L.WhiteS. W. (2014). Assessment of social anxiety in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 21, 18–31.
16.
LaugesonE. A.FrankelF. (2010). Social skills for teenagers with developmental and autism spectrum disorders: The PEERS treatment manual. New York, NY: Routledge.
17.
LaugesonE. A.FrankelF. (2014). The PEERS treatment manual for young adults with autism spectrum disorders: Caregiver-assisted social skills training. Manuscript in preparation.
18.
LaugesonE. A.FrankelF.GantmanA.DillonA. R.MogilC. (2012). Evidence-based social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: The UCLA PEERS Program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1025–1036. doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1339-1
19.
Le CounterA.LordC.RutterM. (2003). The Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
20.
Le PoireB. A.YoshimuraS. M. (1999). The effects of expectancies and actual communication on nonverbal adaptation and communication outcomes: A test of interaction adaptation theory. Communication Monographs, 66, 1–30. doi:10.1080/036377599093764660
21.
LordC.RutterM.DiLavoreP. C.RisiS. (2002). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
22.
LordC.RutterM.DiLavoreP. C.RisiS.GothamK.BishopS. L. (2012). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule–Second edition. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
23.
LordC.WagnerA.RogersS.SzatmariP.AmanM.CharmanT.. . . YoderP. (2005). Challenges in evaluating psychosocial interventions for autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 695–708. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0017-6
24.
LoshM.AdolphsR.PoeM. D.CoutureS.PennD.BaranekG. T.PivenJ. (2009). Neuropsychological profile of autism and the broad autism phenotype. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66, 518–526. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.34
25.
LuteijnE. F.JacksonS. A. E.VolkmarF. R.MinderaaR. B. (1998). Brief report: The development of the children’s social behavior questionnaire: Preliminary data. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28(6), 559–565.
26.
MatsonJ. L.RotatoriA. F.HelselW. J. (1983). Development of a rating scale to measure social skills in children: The Matson evaluation of social skills with youngsters (MESSY). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 335–340.
27.
MattickR. P.ClarkeJ. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 455–470. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(97)10031-6
28.
MazefskyC. A.WhiteS. W. (2013). Adults with autism. In RogersS. J. (Ed.), Handbook of autism spectrum disorders (4th ed., pp. 191–211). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
29.
McEvoyP. M.NathanP.RapeeR. M.CampbellB. N. C. (2012). Cognitive behavioural group therapy for social phobia: Evidence of transportability to community clinics. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50, 258–265. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.01.009
30.
MerrellK. W. (1999). Behavioral, social and emotional assessment of children and adolescents. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
31.
MerrellK. W. (2001). Assessment of children’s social skills: Recent developments, best practices, and new directions. Exceptionality, 9, 3–18. doi:10.1080/09362835.2001.9666988
32.
MundyP.DelgadoC.BlockJ.VeneziaM.HoganA.SiebertJ. (2003). A manual for the abridged Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS). Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami.
33.
OsmanA.GutierrezP. M.BarriosF. X.KopperB. A.ChirosC. E. (1998). The Social Phobia and Social Interaction Anxiety Scales: Evaluation of psychometric properties. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 20, 249–264. doi:10.1023/A:1023067302227
34.
PaulR.OrlovskiS. M.MarcinkoH. C.VolkmarF. (2009). Conversational behaviors in youth with high-functioning ASD and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 115–125. doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0607-1
35.
RaoP. A.BeidelD. C.MurrayM. J. (2008). Social skills interventions for children with Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism: A review and recommendations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 353–361. doi:10.1007/s10803-0070402-4
36.
RattoA. B.Turner-BrownL.RuppB. M.MesibovG. B.PennD. L. (2011). Development of the contextual assessment of social skills (CASS): A role play measure of social skill for individuals with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1277–1286. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1147-z
37.
ReichowB.VolkmarF. R. (2010). Social skills interventions for individuals with autism: Evaluation for evidence-based practices within a best evidence synthesis framework. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 149–166. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0842-0
38.
Roberson-NayR.StrongD. R.NayW. T.BeidelD. C.TurnerS. M. (2007). Development of an abbreviated Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) using item response theory: The SPAI-23. Psychological Assessment, 19, 133–145. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.19.1.133
39.
SchryA. R.Roberson-NayR.WhiteS. W. (2012). Measuring social anxiety in college students: A comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties of the SPAI-23. Psychological Assessment, 24, 846–854. doi:10.1037/a0027398
40.
SegrinC.GivertzM. (2003). Methods of social skills training and development. In GreeneJ. O.BurlesonB. R. (Eds.), Handbook of communication and social interaction skills (pp. 135–178). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
41.
SmithL. E.MaennerM. J.SeltzerM. M. (2012). Developmental trajectories in adolescents and adults with autism: The case of daily living skills. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 622–631. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2012.03.001
42.
TurnerS. M.BeidelD. C.DancuC. V.StanleyM. A. (1989). An empirically derived inventory to measure social fears and anxiety: The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 1, 35–40. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.1.1.35
43.
WangP.SpillaneA. (2009). Evidence-based social skills interventions for children with autism: A meta-analysis. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 44, 318–342.
44.
WhiteS. W.KoenigK.ScahillL. (2007). Social skills development in children with autism spectrum disorders: A review of the intervention research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1858–1868. doi:10.1007/s10567-009-0062-3
45.
WhiteS. W.MaddoxB. B. (2013). Social interventions. In VolkmarF. R. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders (Vol. 3, pp. 2896–2903). Berlin, Germany: Springer. doi:10.1007/SpringerReference_3342222012-12-1214:35:13 UTC
46.
WhiteS. W.OllendickT.AlbanoA.OswaldD.JohnsonC.Southam-GerowM. A.. . . ScahillL. (2013). Randomized controlled trial: Multimodal anxiety and social skill intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 382–294. doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1577-x
47.
WoleryM.GarfinkleA. N. (2002). Measures in intervention research with young children who have autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 463–478. doi:10.1023/A:1020598023809
