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Improving Social Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders:
The Adaptation of the UCLA PEERS Program into a School-Based Teacher-Assisted Intervention
Ruth Ellingsen, Elizabeth Laugeson, Psy.D., Jennifer Sanderson, M.S., Jin Lee, M.A., Amanda Lenvin, Jennifer McNamara, M.A., and Fred Frankel, Ph.D., ABPP
UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior
Funded by the Nathan and Lily Shapell Foundation, Friends of the Semel Institute, and the Semel Scholar Award (Laugeson, PI)
Study Design
Background
 Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) typically
display deficits in social skills, committing infractions of
rules of social etiquette that often lead to negative
reputations, peer rejection, social isolation, withdrawal,
and loneliness.
 Very few social skills intervention studies have taken
place in the classroom, arguably one of the more
naturalistic social settings of all. Previous studies
have also typically failed to include teachers as
interventionists, perhaps underutilizing the powerful
impact of school-based treatment.
Previous Studies
 Previous research indicates that UCLA’s Program for the
Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS)
results in the improvement of social functioning in teens
with ASD (Laugeson et al., 2009).
 More specifically, teens who completed the PEERS
intervention demonstrated significant improvement in
overall social skills, enhanced knowledge of social
etiquette, hosted significantly more get-togethers, and
endorsed better quality of friendships post-treatment.
Table 1. Mean Pre- and Post-Treatment Scores for Statistically Significant Outcome Variables for
Treatment and Delayed Treatment Control Groups (Standard Deviations are in Parentheses).
Variable
Group_________________________________________________ p
Treatment
Delayed Treatment Control
(n = 17)
(n = 16)
_________________________ ___________________________
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
p<
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Teen measures:
TASSK
QPQ Host
FQS
13.3 (2.4)
19.6 (1.4)
12.6 (3.6)
13.3 (3.8)
0.001
1.1 (1.4)
3.2 (2.2)
0.6 (0.9)
1.1 (1.3)
0.025
16.8 (3.4)
17.2 (4.0)
18.1 (3.9)
16.6 (4.6)
0.05
80.2 (8.8)
89.7 (12.1)
77.9 (12.1)
79.8 (11.7)
0.05
Parent measures:
SSRS social skills
This research is being conducted under the auspices of The
Help Group – UCLA Autism Research Alliance.
 Participants recruited from six middle school and high
school classrooms at the Village Glen School, a
nonpublic school serving adolescents with ASD.
Week 2: Conversation Skills II: Two-Way Conversations
Week 3: Electronic Communication
Week 4: Choosing Appropriate Friends
Week 5: Peer Entry Strategies
Week 6: Peer Exit Strategies
 Teachers in the treatment condition (PEERS) trained
and supervised in the intervention.
Week 8: Good Sportsmanship
 All participants receive daily social skills instruction for
30 minutes a day in the classroom.
 Active Treatment Control group: Typical Village Glen
school-based social skills scope and sequence
 Treatment group: Teacher-facilitated PEERS
intervention
Week 10: Handling Bullying and Bad Reputations
 Pre and post assessment of social functioning measured.
Week 7: Get-Togethers (Being a Good Host or Guest)
Week 9: Handling Teasing and Embarrassing Feedback
OVERVIEW OF INTERVENTION:
 Key elements of the intervention taught didactically
through instruction of simple rules of social etiquette.
 Social skills are modeled through role-playing exercises
modeled by teachers.
 Students rehearse newly learned skills in the classroom,
receiving performance feedback from teachers.
 Students required to complete weekly in vivo
socialization homework assignments to practice skills.
76% male
Homework Assignments
 Out-of-group telephone call
 Practice trading information with parents and peers
 Join a new extracurricular activity to expand social
network
 Practice peer entry into a conversation with a new
group of peers
 Host and/or attend get-togethers with friends
 Practice handling peer rejection when relevant
Outcome Measures
TEEN MEASURES
 Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge
 Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents
 Friendship Qualities Scale
 Quality of Socialization Questionnaire—Adolescent
TEACHER MEASURES
 Social Skills Rating System—Teacher
 Social Responsiveness Scale—Teacher Report
PARENT MEASURES
 Social Skills Rating System—Parent
 Social Responsiveness Scale—Parent Report
 Quality of Socialization Questionnaire—Parent
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 Social skills are taught in a naturalistic setting.
 Teens are familiar with the setting, which enhances
overall comfort.
 Teens are exposed to peers with similar interests who
attend their school. Thus, the teens’ social networks in
the school environment are further developed.
 Provides the opportunity for repetition of instruction
from teachers through the use of teachable moments.
 Further promotes generalization of skills to the school
environment.
Week 12: Graduation
 Parents receive weekly handouts to assist with the
generalization of skills.
• N = 60
• Treatment group (n = 30)
• Active Treatment Control group (n = 30)
Benefits of School Setting
Week 11: Handling Arguments and Disagreements
 In-group telephone call
Village Glen Demographics
 Examine the effectiveness of a school-based teacherfacilitated social skills intervention for middle school and
high school adolescents with ASD.
Week 1: Conversation Skills I: Trading Information
 Teachers randomly assigned to the treatment (PEERS)
or active treatment control condition.
Participants
Research Objective
PEERS Curriculum
References
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5(2), 112-117.
2. Buhremeister, D. (1990). Intimacy of friendship, interpersonal competence, and
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4. Laugeson, E. A. & Frankel, F. (2006). Program for the Education and Enrichment of
Relational Skills (PEERS). Unpublished manuscript, UCLA Semel Institute for
Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
5. Laugeson, E. A., Mogil, C., Dillon, A., Frankel, F. (2009). Parent-assisted social skills
training to improve friendships in teens with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(4), 596-606.
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skills to psychopathology for individuals with severe or profound mental
retardation. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 23(2), 137-146.
7. Miller, P. M., & Ingham, J. G. (1976). Friends, confidants, and symptoms. Social
Psychiatry, 11, 51-58.
8. Pfiffner, L. J., & McBurnett, K. (1997). Social skills training with parent
generalization: Treatment effects for children with attention deficit disorder.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(5) 749-757.
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Plenum Press, 223-250.
Contact Information
For additional information please contact:
Ruth Ellingsen at [email protected]
or visit the Parenting & Children’s Friendship Program website at
http://www.semel.ucla.edu/socialskills/