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Brief Report: Individual Social-Multi-Modal Intervention for HFASD

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Abstract

This research is the first part of a 2-year cognitive-behavioral-ecological (CB-E) social skills training for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Current study examined efficacy of an individual CB-E intervention in facilitating children’s dyadic interactions (immediately after treatment and 4 months later) and their social cognition capabilities (e.g., emotion understanding and recognition, social problem solving). Participants were 19 HFASD children aged 7 years and 7 months to 11 years and 6 months. Results demonstrated improvement in children’s social cognition and positive dyadic interaction and decrease in children’s low-level social interaction behavior. Long-term evaluation revealed maintenance of improvement. Progress in children’s cooperation, self-control, and assertiveness was reported by their teachers. Discussion focused on CB-E intervention efficacy in promoting integral social functioning for HF children with ASD.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from the Israel Foundation Trustees. Special thanks are extended to Chani Kfir for coordinating the project, to Hadar Dadush for her cooperation in the development of the group program, to Efrat Orbach-Caspi, Limor Sasson, and Galit Agam for their help in data collection, and to Dee B. Ankonina for her editorial contribution. My gratitude is also extended to the children and families, school principals, and teachers who participated in the study and made this intervention possible.

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  1. School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel

    Nirit Bauminger

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  1. Nirit Bauminger
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Correspondence to Nirit Bauminger.

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Bauminger, N. Brief Report: Individual Social-Multi-Modal Intervention for HFASD. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1593–1604 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0245-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0245-4

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