Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Cross-Cultural Adaptation to Australia of the KONTAKT© Social Skills Group Training Program for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Feasibility Study

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility and cultural validity of KONTAKT©, a manualised social skills group training, in improving the social functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). KONTAKT© was delivered to 17 adolescents (mage = 14.09, SDage = 1.43; 70% male) with ASD over sixteen 90 min sessions. A pre-test post-test design evaluated changes in personally meaningful social goals, symptom severity, quality of life, interpersonal efficacy, social anxiety, loneliness, and facial emotion recognition at pre, post and 3 months follow-up. Focus groups were conducted post intervention. Findings indicate that KONTAKT© may support Australian adolescents with ASD in achieving their personally meaningful social goals. This study resulted in finalisation of KONTAKT© in preparation for evaluation of its efficacy in a randomised controlled trial (Australian New Zealand Clinical Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12617001117303, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03294668).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Afsharnejad, B., Falkmer, M., Black, M. H., Alach, T., Lenhard, F., Fridell, A., … Girdler, S. (2019). KONTAKT© in Australian adolescents on the autism spectrum: Protocol of a randomized control trial. Trials, 20, 687. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3721-9.

  • Aldridge, F. J., Gibbs, V. M., Schmidhofer, K., & Williams, M. (2012). Investigating the clinical usefulness of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in a tertiary level, autism spectrum disorder specific assessment clinic. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(2), 94–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1242-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychological Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychological Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: fifth edition (DSM-5). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Attwood, T. (2000). Strategies for improving the social integration of children with Asperger syndrome. Autism, 4(1), 85–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361300004001006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Cultural diversity in Australia—Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012–2013. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013.

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2012). Autism in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4428.0Main%20Features32012?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4428.0&issue=2012&num=&view=.

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2017). Autism in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/autism-in-australia/contents/autism.

  • Barrera, M. J., Castro, F. G., Strycker, L. A., & Toobert, D. J. (2013). Cultural adaptations of behavioral health interventions: A progress report. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81(2), 196–205. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027085.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont, R., Rotolone, C., & Sofronoff, K. (2015). The secret agent society social skills program for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: A comparison of two school variants. Psychology in the Schools, 52(4), 390–402. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont, R., & Sofronoff, K. (2008). A multi-component social skills intervention for children with Asperger syndrome: The junior detective training program. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(7), 743–753. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01920.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, G., Jiménez-Chafey, M. I., & Domenech Rodríguez, M. M. (2009). Cultural adaptation of treatments: A resource for considering culture in evidence-based practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(4), 361–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Betts, K. (2003). Birthplace origins of Australia's immigrants. People and Place, 11(3), 51–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blythe LaGasse, A. (2013). Pilot and feasibility studies: Application in music intervention research. Journal of Music Intervention, 50(4), 304–320. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/50.4.304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S. (2018). Social färdighetsträning i grupp med fokus på kommunikation och social interaktion vid autismspektrumtillstånd enligt Frankfurtmodellen (KONTAKT). Göttingen: HOGREFE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S., & Choque-Olsson, N. (2011). KONTAKT (Swedish version). Stockholm: HOGREFE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S., Poustka, F., & Constantino, J. N. (2008). Assessing autistic traits: Cross-cultural validation of the social responsiveness scale (SRS). Autism Research, 1(6), 354–363. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S., Schipper, E., Robison, J. E., Wong, V. C. N., Selb, M., Singhal, N., … Zwaigenbaum, L. (2014). Classification of functioning and impairment: The development of ICF core sets for autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 7(1), 167–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1335.

  • Borrelli, B. (2011). The assessment, monitoring, and enhancement of treatment fidelity in public health clinical trials. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 71(s1), S52–S63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-7325.2011.00233.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, D. J., Kreuter, M., Spring, B., Cofta-Woerpel, L., Linnan, L., Weiner, D., … Fernandez, M. (2009). How we design feasibility studies. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(5), 452–457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.02.002.

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cappadocia, M., & Weiss, J. A. (2011). Review of social skills training groups for youth with Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(1), 70–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y. W., Bundy, A., Cordier, R., & Einfeld, S. (2014). Feasibility and usability of experience sampling methodology for capturing everyday experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Disability and Health Journal, 7(3), 361–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2014.04.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Choque Olsson, N., Flygare, O., Coco, C., Gorling, A., Rade, A., Chen, Q., … Bölte, S. (2017). Social skills training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(7), 585–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.05.001

  • Choque Olsson, N., Karlsson, A., Andersson, S., Boström, A., Ljungström M., & Bölte, S. (2016). Cross-cultural adaptation of the KONTAKT social skills group training program for children and adolescents with high-functioning Autism spectrum disorder: A feasibility study. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 4(2), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2016-009.

  • Choque Olsson, N., Rautio, D., Asztalos, J., Stoetzer, U., & Bölte, S. (2016). Social skills group training in high-functioning autism: A qualitative responder study. Autism, 20(8), 995–1010. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315621885.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., & Gruber, C. P. (2005). Social responsiveness Scale (SRS). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, B. A., Blain, S. D., Lounnou, S., & Balser, M. (2017). Changes in anxiety following a randomized control trial of a theatre-based intervention for youth with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316643623.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, B. A., Key, A. P., Qualls, L., Fecteau, S., Newsom, C., Coke, C., et al. (2016). Improvement in social competence using a randomized trial of a theatre intervention for children with Autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(2), 658–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1341.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cordier, R., Brown, N., Chen, Y., Wilkes-Gillan, S., & Falkmer, T. (2014). Piloting the use of experience sampling method to investigate the everyday social experience of children with Asperger syndrome/high functioning autism. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 19(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.3109/17518423.2014.915244.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriels, R., Pan, Zh, Dechant, B., Angnew, J. A., Brim, N., & Mesibov, G. (2015). Randomized controlled trial of therapeutic horseback riding in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54, 541–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.04.007.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2006). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and analysis and applications (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grynszpan, O., Nadel, J., Martin, J. C., Simonin, J., Bailleul, P., Wang, Y., … Constant, J. (2012). Self-monitoring of gaze in high functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(8), 1642–1650, 2000–2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1404-9.

  • Guastella, A. J., Einfeld, S. L., Gray, K. M., Rinehart, N. J., Tonge, B. J., Lambert, T. J., et al. (2010). Intranasal oxytocin improves emotion recognition for youth with autism spectrum disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 67(7), 692–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.020.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henninger, N. A., & Taylor J. L. (2013). Outcomes in adults with autism spectrum disorders: A historical perspective. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 17(1), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361312441266.

  • Herbrecht, E., Bölte, S., & Poustka, F. (2008). KONTAKT - Frankfurter Kommunikations- und soziales Interaktions-Gruppentraining bei Autismus-Spektrum-Störungen. Gottingen: Hogrefe Psykologiforlaget AB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbrecht, E., Bölte, S., & Poustka, F. (2011). KONTAKT: social färdighetsträning i grupp med fokus på kommunikation och social interaktion vid autismspektrumtillstånd enligt Frankfurtmodellen. Stockholm: Hogrefe Psykologiforlaget AB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbrecht, E., & Poustka, F. (2007). Frankfurt group social communication and interaction skills training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Zeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, 35(1), 33–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horsfield, B., & Zusters, L. (2010). The Australian SAS: The untold story [video]. Queensland, Australia: University of Southern Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, S., Hattie, J., Carroll, A., Wood, L., & Baffour, B. (2016). It hurts to be lonely! Loneliness and positive mental wellbeing in Australian rural and urban adolescents. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 26(1), 52–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2016.1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IBM Corp. (2016). IBM SPSS statistics for windows, version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.

  • Jones, D. (1988). Serious laughter: On defining Australian humour. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 23(1), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/002198948802300108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonsson, U., Alaie, I., Löfgren-Wilteus, A., Zander, E., Marschik, P. B., Coghill, D., et al. (2017). Annual Research Review: Quality of life and childhood mental and behavioural disorders—a critical review of the research. Journal of child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(4), 439–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12645.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jonsson, U., Choque Olsson, N., Coco, C., Gorling, A., Flygare, O., Chen, Q., … Bölte, S. (2019). Long-term social skills group training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28(2), 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1161-9.

  • Junek, W. (2007). Mind reading: The interactive guide to emotions. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 16(4), 182–183.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kiresuk, T. J., & Sherman, R. E. (1968). Goal attainment scaling: A general method for evaluating comprehensive community mental health programs. Community Mental Health Journal, 4(6), 443–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiresuk, T. J., Smith, A., & Cardillo, J. E. (1994). Goal attainment scaling: Applications, theory, and measurement. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreuter, M., Siösteen, A., Erkholm, B., Bystörm, U., & Brown, D. J. (2005). Health and quality of life of persons with spinal cord lesion in Australia and Sweden. Spinal Cord, 43(2), 123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.sc.3101692.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumpfer, K., Alvarado, R., Smith, P., & Bellamy, N. (2002). Cultural sensitivity and adaptation in family-based prevention interventions. Prevention Science, 3(3), 241–246. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019902902119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, A. S. (2006). Making the case for selective and directed cultural adaptations of evidence-based treatments: Examples from parent training. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 13(4), 295–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2006.00042.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laugeson, E. A., Frankel, F., Mogil, C., & Dillon, A. R. (2009). Parent-assisted social skills training to improve friendships in teens with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39(4), 596–606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0664-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M., & Mikami, A. (2012). A preliminary randomized controlled trial of two social skills interventions for youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 27, 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357612450613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, K. D. (2014). Circumplex scales of intergroup goals: An interpersonal circle model of goals for interactions between groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(4), 433–449. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213514280.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, K. D., & Mitchell, G. E. (2016). Self-perceptions, parent-perceptions, and meta-perceptions of the interpersonal efficacy of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 31, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2016.07.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, K. D., & Sadler, P. (2007). Self-efficacy, values, and complementarity in dyadic interactions: Integrating interpersonal and social-cognitive theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(1), 94–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206293375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., Dilavore, P. C., Risi, K., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S. L. (2012). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) (Part I): Modules 1–4 [Manual]. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louwerse, A., Van Der Geest, J. N., Tulen, J. H. M., Van Der Ende, J., Van Gool, A. R., Verhulst, F. C., et al. (2013). Effects of eye gaze directions of facial images on looking behaviour and autonomic responses in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(9), 1043–1053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.04.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsiglia, F. F., & Booth, J. M. (2015). Cultural adaptation of interventions in real practice settings. Research on Social Work Practice, 25(4), 423–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731514535989.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, N. L., Orr, B. C., Warriner, K., Decarlo, M., Sorensen, M., Laflin, J., et al. (2018). Exploring the effectiveness of a peer-mediated model of the PEERS curriculum: A pilot randomized control trial. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 48(7), 2458–2475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3504-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Intervention, 36(4), 455–470. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(97)10031-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGregor, C. (1980). The Australian people/Craig McGregor. Sydney: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • McStay, R. L., Dissanayake, C., Scheeren, A., Koot, H. M., & Begeer, S. (2014). Parenting stress and autism: The role of age, autism severity, quality of life and problem behaviour of children and adolescents with autism. Autism, 18(5), 502–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313485163.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Offord, B. A., Kerruish, E., Garbutt, R., Wessell, A., Pavlovic, K., Nandy, A., & Lal, V. (2014). Inside Australian culture: Legacies of enlightenment values. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=1753229.

  • Pandolfi, V., Magyar, C. I., & Norris, M. (2014). Validity study of the CBCL 6–18 for the assessment of emotional problems in youth with ASD. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 7(4), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2014.930547.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • QSR International. (2018). NVivo qualitative data analysis software-version 12. Los Angeles: QSR International Pty Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabin, S. J., Israel-Yaacov, S., Laugeson, E. A., Mor-Snir, I., & Golan, O. (2018). A randomized controlled trial evaluating the Hebrew adaptation of the PEERS® intervention: Behavioral and questionnaire-based outcomes. Autism Research, 11(8), 1187–1200. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1974.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radley, K. C., Ford, B. W., McHugh, M. B., Dadakhodjaeva, K., O'Handley, R. D., Battaglia, A. A., et al. (2015). Brief report: Use of superheroes social skills to promote accurate social skill use in children with Autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(9), 3048–3054. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2442-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ravindran, N., & Myers, B. J. (2012). Cultural influences on perceptions of health, illness, and disability: A review and focus on Autism. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(2), 311–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9477-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roekel, E., Goossens, L., Verhagen, M., Wouters, S., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Scholte, T. H. J. (2014). Loneliness, affect, and adolescents' appraisals of company: An experience sampling method study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(2), 350–363. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozental, A., Kottorp, A., Boettcher, J., Andersson, G., & Calbring, P. (2016). Negative effects of psychological treatments: An exploratory factor analysis of the negative effects questionnaire for monitoring and reporting adverse and unwanted events. PLoS ONE, 11(6), e0157503. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157503.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ruble, L. A., Dalrymple, N. J., & McGrew, J. H. (2012). Collaborative model for promoting competence and success for students with ASD. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schohl, K. A., Hecke, A. V., Carson, A. M., Dolan, B., Karst, J., & Stevens, S. (2014). A replication and extension of the PEERS intervention: Examining effects on social skills and social anxiety in adolescents with Autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(3), 532–545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1900-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldrick, R., Neger, E., Shipman, D., & Perrin, E. (2012). Quality of life of adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: Concordance among adolescents’ self-reports, parents’ reports, and parents’ proxy reports. Quality of Life Research, 21(1), 53–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-9916-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shields, N., Van den Bos, R., Buhlert-Smith, K., Prendergast, L., & Taylor, N. (2019). A community-based exercise program to increase participation in physical activities among youth with disability: A feasibility study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 41(10), 1152–1159. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1422034.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Signorini, P. R., Wiesemes, R., & Murphy, R. (2009). Developing alternative frameworks for exploring intercultural learning: A critique of Hofstede's cultural difference model. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 253–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510902898825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SMI SensoMotoric Instruments. (2015). SMI gaze and eye tracking systems. Retrieved from https://www.smivision.com/.

  • Steinberg, L. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 83–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tammimies, K., Li, D., Rabkina, L., Stamouli, S., Nicolaou, V., Berggren, S., … Bölte, S. (2019). Association between copy number variation and response to social skills training in autism spectrum disorder. Scientific reports, 9(1), 9810. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46396-1.

  • Taylor, J. L., Dove, D., Veenstra-VanderWeele, K., Sathe, N. A., McPheeters, M. L., Jerome, R. N., et al. (2012). Interventions for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Rockville: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, S., Sciberras, E., Lycett, K., Papadopoulos, N., & Rinehart, N. (2018). Physical functioning, emotional, and behavioral problems in children with ADHD and comorbid ASD: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 22(10), 1002–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054715587096.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Varni, J. W., Seid, M., & Rode, C. A. (1999). The PedsQL: Measurement model for the pediatric quality of life inventory. Medical Care, 37(2), 126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vernon, T. W., Miller, A. R., Ko, J. A., Barrett, A. C., & McGarry, E. S. (2018). A randomized controlled trial of the Social Tools And Rules for Teens (START) program: An immersive socialization intervention for adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 48(3), 892–904. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3380-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villagran, M., Hajeck, Ch, Zhao, X., Peterson, E., & Wittenberg-Lyles, E. (2012). Communication and culture: Predictors of treatment adherence among Mexican immigrant patients. Journal of Health Psychology, 17(3), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105311417194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (2011). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II). San Antonio, TX: NCS Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282912467756

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • White, S., & Roberson-Nay, R. (2009). Anxiety, social deficits, and loneliness in youth with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(7), 1006–1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0713-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, S. W., Ollendick, T., Albano, A.M., Oswald, D., Johnson, C., Southam-Gerow, M., … Scahill, L. (2013). Randomized controlled trial: Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skill Intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 43(2), 382–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1577-x.

  • World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability, and health: ICF. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoo, H.J., Geonho, B., Cho, I. H., Kim, E. K., Kim, J. H., Min, J. W., … Laugeson, E. A. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of the Korean version of the PEERS parent-assisted social skills training program for teens with ASD. Autism Research, 7(1), 145–161. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1354.

  • Zirkel, S., Garcia, J. A., & Murphy, M. C. (2015). Experience-sampling research methods and their potential for education research. Educational Researcher, 44(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X14566879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the generous support from the staff at the Karolinska Institutet for Neurodevelopmental Disorders and the Stockholm Health Services, and the staff at the Autism Association of Western Australia who were our partners in the delivery of the interventions and the cross-cultural adaptation. We would also like to thank the participants and trainers who took part in the pilot study and the focus groups. We acknowledge the funding received from Stan Perron’s Charitable Trust which made this study possible.

Funding

This project was funded by the Stan Perron Charitable Trust. The views of the funders have not influenced the content of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Bahareh Afsharnejad, Marita Falkmer, Melissa H. Black, Nigel T. M. Chen, Sven Bölte & Sonya Girdler

  2. Curtin Autism Research Group (CARG), Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Bahareh Afsharnejad, Marita Falkmer, Melissa H. Black, Nigel T. M. Chen, Sven Bölte & Sonya Girdler

  3. CHILD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Marita Falkmer

  4. Autism Association of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Tasha Alach & Kelly Milne

  5. Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Sweden

    Fabian Lenhard

  6. Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden

    Anna Fridell, Christina Coco & Sven Bölte

  7. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden

    Fabian Lenhard & Sven Bölte

Authors
  1. Bahareh Afsharnejad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marita Falkmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melissa H. Black
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tasha Alach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fabian Lenhard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anna Fridell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Christina Coco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kelly Milne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Nigel T. M. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Sven Bölte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Sonya Girdler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualisation and design of the study was undertaken by BA, SG, SB, MF and TA. TA and KM assist with administration of groups and offer clinical support. Assessments used were chosen by BA, SG, SB, MF, MB, NC, CC and AF. Analysis of pilot data was undertaken by BA with assistance from SG, MF, MB, SB and NC. Drafting of the manuscript was undertaken by BA with input from SB, SG, MF, MB, SB, CC, AF. FL provided consultation for cost analysis. All authors contributed to, read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sonya Girdler.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Sven Bölte receives royalties from Hogrefe publishers for the German and Swedish KONTAKT© manuals and the Swedish KONTAKT© Activity books. This research is conducted independent from the service provider with no competing interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 116 kb)

Supplementary file2 (DOCX 26 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Afsharnejad, B., Falkmer, M., Black, M.H. et al. Cross-Cultural Adaptation to Australia of the KONTAKT© Social Skills Group Training Program for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Feasibility Study. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 4297–4316 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04477-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04477-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation