Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The UCLA PEERS Program

Background:

Among young adults with Asperger’s Disorder/High Functioning Autism (AD/HFA), social deficits can lead to significant impairment in daily living, vocational skills, social relationships, and psychological issues. Difficulties in social skills acquisition and generalization are often the most significant challenges for children and adults with AD/HFA.  Yet, there is a tremendous void in the treatment research which encompasses transitional youth/young adults with AD/HFA. Few studies have examined the difficulties these young adults endure during this highly socially, emotionally, and physically demanding period of their lives, even though research suggests that the effects of AD/HFA are greatest in adolescence and young adulthood. This period encompasses school transition, finding employment, building social networks, increasing contributions to household, greater involvement in the community, and the development of romantic relationships.

Among the research conducted with this population, findings suggest that only 15% of adults with AD/HFA have friendships with shared enjoyment, and even fewer are married. Social contacts are primarily based on special interests rather than strong/in-depth relationships. Lack of social skills in young adults with AD/HFA may lead to more isolation and thus a lack of interpersonal relationships, vocational difficulties, victimization and exploitation, and increased psychopathology. Moreover, young adults with AD/HFA have higher rates of depression and generalized anxiety.

Possession of good social skills is an important factor in long-term adjustment of individuals with AD/HFA. Research indicates that having one or two best friends is of great importance to later adjustment, can buffer the impact of stressful life events, and correlates positively with self-esteem and negatively with anxious and depressive symptoms.

Social skills training is a well documented intervention strategy for children/adolescents with AD/HFA, yet to date there do not appear to be any evidence-based interventions focused on improving social skills for young adults with AD/HFA.

Objectives:

To assess feasibility of parent-assisted social skills intervention for young adults with AD/HFA.
Methods:

The manualized intervention will consist of an adapted 14-week evidence-based parent-assisted social skills treatment program for transitional AD/HFA youth 18-22 years of age. 20 participants and their parents will participate in the PEERS for Adults Program by attending weekly 90-minute treatment sessions, which will consist of didactic social skills lessons, modeling demonstrations, role-playing exercises and behavioral rehearsal activities. Didactics lessons will target: conversational skills; peer entry/exiting strategies; choosing appropriate friends; planning/implementing get-togethers; handling peer rejection; avoiding peer exploitation/victimization; and resolving conflict with peers.

Results:

Preliminary results of this study, which are forthcoming, are anticipated to reveal that the PEERS for Adults intervention effectively improved the social functioning of transitional youth with AD/HFA and had a positive effect on psychosocial functioning and friendship quality.

Conclusions:

Findings are anticipated to suggest that the use of an adapted manualized parent-assisted social skills intervention is effective in improving the social competence and friendship skills of young adults with AD/HFA.