Effectiveness of Social Skills Training for children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in social communication and interaction and by the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The impairments in social communication and interaction result in limited socio-emotional reciprocity, ranging from not being able to initiate contact to initiating or responding to social contact in a way that is deviant and that may be inappropriate. Other impairments concern non-verbal communication (for example initiating and maintaining eye contact) and developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships (for example engaging in reciprocal conversations, emotion recognition, empathy, joint attention, and recognition of social cues; American Psychiatric Association, 2013).