Effects of a Group Teaching Interaction Procedure on the Social Skills of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

One of the distinct characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is significant delays in socialization. Students with ASD often struggle to develop meaningful social relationships with their peers. Learning appropriate socialization skills is a necessary first step that is often taught using a systematic, direct instruction approach. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a Teaching Interaction (TI) procedure on four social skills across four elementary-aged participants with ASD. All participants received training on the same social skills within a group setting through daily instruction at school. A modified multiple-probe design showed that the TI procedure was effective in teaching all the targeted social skills to the participants. Prior to intervention, the participants showed relatively low levels of the four social skills targeted; however, after intervention, all participants showed a significant increase in their ability to perform the skills. Furthermore, the data show that all participants maintained the learned social skills over time.