Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine generalization and maintenance effects of social skills training (SST) for a fifth-grade boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a general education classroom. A social skills training program was developed that identifies target skills from a functional assessment, instructs matches for characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, and includes some homework on behavioral rehearsal. The social skills training consisted of 10 sessions, focusing on the following target skills: responding to initiations skills, entry skills, assertive skills, anger management skills, and problem-solving skills. The results were as follows: (a) The teacher's ratings of the boy's social skills improved, and (b) the frequency of his playing with peers after school increased. These results suggest that social skills training for this elementary school child with autism spectrum disorder improved his skills, and that the improvement generalized and was maintained. The discussion suggests that functional assessment of peer, teacher, and parent interactions is necessary for social skills training with individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
