The effectiveness of social communication groups in mainstream schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 10-week Social Communication Group (SCG) programme involving six children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The sessions were carried out at the mainstream school attended by the children. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the programme in enhancing specific social communication skills in each participant, as opposed to previous research on social skills groups where results were more general. The children’s social communication skills were rated pre- and post-therapy by the first author, parents and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) to allow comparison. Feedback forms filled in by the LSAs and the first author’s own observations allowed ongoing evaluation of each child’s performance throughout sessions. Questionnaires given pre- and post-therapy to the parents and LSAs were expected to provide evidence of generalisation of social communication skills at home and at school. Qualitative and quantitative data obtained from this small group study indicated that this method of intervention was effective in enhancing the social communication skills of children with ASD. Although all the participants showed an improvement in their overall performance, specific objectives targeted through structured activities that were motivating and repetitive elicited a higher percentage improvement. Factors such as the children’s primary language, pre-therapy status and their understanding at conversational level seemed to have an impact on their individual improvement. Generalisation of skills acquired during therapy was limited since it depended on the commitment of parents and LSAs in implementing the goals of the programme at home and at school.