Emotional competence (EC) refers to a set of skills to identify, understand, and respond to one's own emotions and those of others. It plays a fundamental role in socialization processes, where children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) show marked deficits. However, due to the similarities between these…

One intervention that has been evaluated in numerous empirical investigations and has been implemented clinically is Social Stories. Social Stories are a systematic form of intervention where a text is written describing a situation (e.g., social situation) and how the learner should respond during that situation. Previous reviews and analysis…

In the context of Social Stories™, we compared visual attention to social scenes using BoardMaker™ versus photographic stimuli among typically developing (TD) children and age-matched children with ASD. For visual attention, the dependent measures were the number of fixations and fixation time to eye, mouth, and 'other' (background) areas of…

Abstract: Many youths with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) lack the skills necessary to secure and maintain post-high school employment. One intervention that may improve vocational skills and social interactions for individuals with ASD in the work place is peer-mediated interventions. Peer-mediated interventions (PMI) have consistently…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a three-phased self-directed model in enhancing the social problem-solving skills and the levels of self-determination of students with ASD. A total of 44 junior high school students with ASD were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 24) receiving the three-phased…

Multiple behavioral interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders have been established with adequate scientific evidence. Behavioral interventions, however, are cultural practices and often rely on home-school interactions for implementation. Little is known about intervention applicability and feasibility for cultural and…

Abstract: One of the interventions, of which effectiveness in the teaching of social skills has been examined in autism literature in recent years, is teaching with cool versus not cool. In this study, it was aimed to examine the effectiveness of teaching with cool versus not cool in the teaching of social skill ("Coping with inappropriate…

This study examined the extent to which peer mediation increased, maintained, and generalized social initiations and responses of elementary students with autism spectrum disorder as compared to their typically developing peers. A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to determine the impact of intervention. Results indicated that…

Now more than ever, students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are being taught in inclusive settings. Despite inclusion initiatives, research suggests students with ASD have limited social interactions with neurotypical peers and have significantly fewer high quality friendships compared to neurotypical peers. The purpose of this paper is…

Social stories frequently have been used to improve the social interaction of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This literature review examines the effectiveness of social story interventions on the social interactions of students with ASD including with whom, where, and what formats have been implemented, as well as the methodological…

Educators have used narrative fiction to expand knowledge and facilitate awareness about underrepresented populations, including those with disabilities. This study is a content analysis of nine award-winning young-adult narrative fiction books with characters depicting individuals with ASD. The analysis yielded a total of 285 symptoms that were…

One of the distinct characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is significant delays in socialization. Students with ASD often struggle to develop meaningful social relationships with their peers. Learning appropriate socialization skills is a necessary first step that is often taught using a systematic, direct instruction…

This study investigated an intervention package that combined Skillstreaming procedures with video modeling for the development of social skills for middle school students identified with and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple probe design across participants was employed to assess the effectiveness of the video modeling intervention…

The purpose of this systematic literature review was to summarize single-case intervention studies involving paraprofessional-implemented systematic instruction for students with disabilities. In the 19 reviewed studies, 60 paraprofessionals received training to implement systematic instruction with most learning naturalistic language strategies,…

Play skills are central to development of children's language and cognitive skills. However, social, symbolic, and object play skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequently impaired. This study examined the effects of a strategy that utilized preferred play materials, antecedent creative dance activities, and priming of…