Parental Perception of Change in Social Skills and Problem Behavior in Adolescents with Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Following a Conversation Skills Group Intervention

The purpose of this study was to determine how parents of children with Asperger’s syndrome and High Functioning Autism perceive changes in both problem behaviors and social skills following an intervention targeted at conversation skills. The parents of seven participants were given the Problem Behavior Rating Scale (Stone et al, 1998) and the Social Skills Survey (Stone et al, 2000) prior to the first session of intervention. The intervention lesson plans were modeled after those used for social skills groups at the Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The intervention lasted six weeks, at the end of which the parents again filled out the PBRS and the SSS. Results were compared for six of the seven participants and it was found that no significant changes were reported by the parents of these children, using a t-test of significance. Limitations and future research will be discussed.