Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are faced with significant barriers relating to employment opportunities and workplace participation. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Walker social skills curriculum: the ACCESS program and video modeling to increase social communication skills necessary for workplace inclusion. Participants attended two sessions (i.e., 3 h) per week across a period of 20 weeks. A multiple-probe design was used to demonstrate social skills outcomes across three broad curricular areas (i.e., peer-related, adult-related, and self-related social skills). Pre-and post-intervention standardized assessments were also taken. Results showed significant increases in target social skills and a significant decrease in problem behaviors following intervention. Evidence of maintenance and generalization were also demonstrated. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
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EW, JH and HL conceptualised the study and EW collected data and completed analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results and reviewed the manuscript critcally, and approved the final version.
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This study was funded by the Health Service Executive and Ability West Galway.
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The first author receiving funding for the implementation of the study as a research assistant. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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“All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.”
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“Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”
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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the PhD Applied Behavior Analysis, under the supervision of the second and third author.
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Walsh, E., Holloway, J. & Lydon, H. An Evaluation of a Social Skills Intervention for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities preparing for Employment in Ireland: A Pilot Study. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 1727–1741 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3441-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3441-5