Social Skills Training for Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Meta-analysis of In-person and Technological Interventions

Erin E Soares; Kimberly Bausback; Charlotte L Beard; Megan Higinbotham; Eduard L Bunge; Grace W Gengoux

doi:10.1007/s41347-020-00177-0

Social Skills Training for Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Meta-analysis of In-person and Technological Interventions

J Technol Behav Sci. 2021;6(1):166-180. doi: 10.1007/s41347-020-00177-0. Epub 2020 Nov 17.

Authors

Erin E Soares^{1

2}, Kimberly Bausback^{1

2}, Charlotte L Beard^{1

2}, Megan Higinbotham^{1

2}, Eduard L Bunge^{1

2}, Grace W Gengoux³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, USA.
² Children and Adolescents Psychotherapy and Technology (CAPT), Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA USA.

Abstract

Social skills training (SST) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has traditionally focused on face-to-face (F2F-SST) interventions. Recently, Behavioral Intervention Technologies (BITs-SST) have been utilized to target social skills deficits using computer-based programs, avatars, and therapeutic robots. The present meta-analysis reviews recent evidence and compares the efficacy of 14 F2F-SST and four identified BITs-SST intervention trials for youth with ASD. These preliminary analyses did not indicate significant differences between F2F-SST and BITs-SST, with effect sizes consistently in the medium to high range (g = 0.81 and g = 0.93, respectively). These findings provide initial support for the continued investigation of BITs for providing SST to youth with ASD.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Behavior intervention technologies; Face-to-face; Meta-analysis; Social skills training.