Asperger's Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Asperger's Syndrome, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, medication.

Brief Report: Measuring the Effectiveness of Teaching Social Thinking to Children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA).

Crooke PJ, Hendrix RE, Rachman JY

Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA, pam.crooke@sjsu.edu.

This is the first report from a large multiple baseline single-subject design study of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This brief report examines effectiveness of teaching a social cognitive (Social Thinking) approach to six males with Asperger syndrome (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA). Data included are restricted to pre- post-treatment comparisons of verbal and non-verbal social behaviors. Structured treatment and semi-structured generalization sessions occurred over eight weeks. Results indicated significant changes from pre- to post- measures on both verbal/nonverbal "expected" and "unexpected" behaviors, significant increases in the subcategories of "expected verbal", "listening/thinking with eyes", and "initiations", and robust decreases in the subcategories of "unexpected-verbal" and "unexpected-nonverbal". Importance of social cognitive approaches for children AS and HFA is discussed.

Published 26 February 2008 in J Autism Dev Disord, 38(3): 581-91.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Asperger's Syndrome Research Today. All Rights Reserved.