The Effectiveness of Social Skills Training Groups for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by social difficulties that can have a negative impact on an individual’s psychological and social wellbeing. To date, reviews of social skills training groups have mainly focussed on children, rather than adolescents and adults. This review aimed to critically evaluate studies published in the past 20 years that had used group-based social skills training to improve the social skills of adults and/or adolescents with ASD. Thirteen studies were identified, and group-based social skills training was generally effective at improving social skills, with some studies observing transfer effects to improvements in wider psychological wellbeing. Future research should focus on comparing different social skills training protocols in real-world clinical settings.