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Psychosocial Treatments for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Across the Lifespan: New Developments and Underlying Mechanisms

  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (ES Brodkin, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Researchers have studied many interventions to address the core impairment in social interactions in autism spectrum disorder. We reviewed the social skills intervention literature over the past two years (2012-2014). Social skills intervention studies have increased by 35 % over our previous review of 2010- 2012. Nearly equal numbers of studies reported results using single subject research designs (n = 29) and group designs (n = 25). Consistent with our previous review, many studies focused on joint attention/joint engagement for young children and interventions addressing peer interactions for older children. Advancements in this review period included more replications of intervention models, longitudinal outcomes, and a focus on minimally verbal children. Notably absent are social interventions for adults, and interventions addressing school-based inclusion. In addition to these target areas, future studies should isolate active ingredients of social interventions, include broader participant representation, and further examine the relation between neural development and behavioral outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grant UA3 MC 11055 AIR-B from the Maternal and Child Health Research Program, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Combating Autism Act Initiative), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

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Conflict of Interest

Connie Kasari, Stephanie Shire, Reina Factor, and Caitlin McCracken declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    Connie Kasari, Stephanie Shire, Reina Factor & Caitlin McCracken

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  1. Connie Kasari
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  2. Stephanie Shire
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  4. Caitlin McCracken
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Correspondence to Connie Kasari.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Kasari, C., Shire, S., Factor, R. et al. Psychosocial Treatments for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Across the Lifespan: New Developments and Underlying Mechanisms. Curr Psychiatry Rep 16, 512 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0512-6

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