Social Skills for Teenagers with Developmental and Autism Spectrum Disorders by Laugeson, Elizabeth A.; Frankel, Fred;

Short description:

Social Skills for Teenagers With Developmental and Autism Spectrum Disorders uses discussion, handouts, tips and activities to walk parents and therapists through a step-by-step program that has brought proven results for teens trying to make friends.

Long description:

This book is essential reading for any clinician or researcher working with teens with autism spectrum disorders. This parent-assisted intervention for teens is based on a comprehensive, evidence-based, 14-week program at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, the manualization of the popular UCLA PEERS Program, and the success of the Children’s Friendship Training (Routledge, 2002) manual for children.

After reviewing techniques designed to help parents and therapists tailor the manual to the needs of the teens with whom they are working, the text moves on to the individual treatment sessions and strategies for tackling issues such as developing conversational skills, choosing friends, using humor, get-togethers, teasing, bullying, gossiping, and handling disagreements. Each session chapter includes handouts, homework assignments, descriptions of what to expect (and how to handle challenges in delivering the intervention), and customized tips for both parents and therapists.

"This book provides a very comprehensive, down-to-earth manual for an innovative social skills intervention for teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their parents. With a strong theoretical perspective and a quickly developing empirical base, the book moves the potential provider from screening to goals to activities to measuring progress, providing detailed information at each step, and even case studies, that provide a sense of what such a program means to an individual teenager. The combination of teen- and parent-directed parallel programs is particularly unique in social skills programs and offers opportunities to involve the whole family in these very positive endeavors." - Catherine Lord, Director, University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center (UMACC) and Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, USA

"Laugeson & Frankel have done the field a great service in developing the PEERS program for friendship and social-skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The book has a clear and practical curriculum; many techniques and example exercises are described lucidly; it combines work with teens and their parents; and they have begun to develop an evidence-base through conducting a series of randomized controlled trials." - Tony Charman, Chair in Autism Education, Institute of Education, London, UK

"Based on scientifically sound research and insightful clinical acumen, this book provides the how-to for successful social-skills groups. Laugeson and Frankel should be commended for writing a digestible book of immense interest to a wide readership." - Connie Kasari, Professor of Education and Psychiatry, UCLA, USA

Table of Contents:

Preface. Part I: Introduction. Part II: Preparing for Treatment Screening. Part III: Treatment Sessions. Session 1: Introduction and Conversational Skills I – Trading Information. Session 2:  Conversational Skills II – Two-way Conversations. Session 3: Conversational Skills III – Electronic Communication. Session 4: Choosing Appropriate Friends. Session 5: Appropriate Use of Humor. Session 6: Peer Entry I – Entering a Conversation. Session 7: Peer Entry II – Exiting a Conversation. Session 8: Get-togethers. Session 9: Good Sportsmanship. Session 10: Rejection I – Teasing and Embarrassing Feedback. Session 11: Rejection II – Bullying and Bad Reputations. Session 12: Handling Disagreements. Session 13: Rumors and Gossip. Session 14: Graduation and Termination. Case Examples. List of Key Terms. Appendix. Assessment Measures. Session Materials.