The Assessment and Treatment of Conversational Skills for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Replication and Extension

Abstract

Deficits in social skills are considered a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have been shown to impact quality of life, but the research on effective social skills interventions for the adolescent population is lacking. Specifically, more research is needed on complex social skills, like conversation skills, and methods that promote generalization. The current study is a replication and extension of a study by Hood and colleagues (2017) that used behavioral skills training and in-vivo training to teach conversation skills to adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, and a semi-structured direct conversation assessment to assess generalization of skills.