Query: Autism and social skills and college

title: Autistic traits and social skills in Chinese college students: Mediating roles of adult attachment styles and empathy
abstract: Autistic traits (ATs) are considered a set of primary symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and are postulated to be continuously distributed in the general population. Prior findings suggest that impairment of social skills results in interpersonal difficulties in ASDs. However, there are few studies examining the possible negative effects of ATs on social skills in the general population and the specific mechanism. The current study explored the influence of ATs on social skills and the mediating role of adult attachment styles and multimodal empathy. The results showed that ATs reduced social skills directly and indirectly through complex mediation by adult attachment styles and multimodal empathy. The findings revealed the internal mechanism by which ATs impede social skills, and expands our understanding of social behaviour in ASD and ATs in the general population. Furthermore, the results have implications for social skills interventions for individuals with ASD and those with high levels of ATs.

title: Efficacy and social validity of procedures for improving conversational skills of college students with autism.
abstract: Better conversational skills correspond to a higher quality of life for adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) In this study, we taught vocal verbal responses discriminated by compound arrangements of concealed conversation partner mands to two college students with ASD. Participants learned to engage in self questioning about their conversation partner's behavior and to reinforce three concealed mands for termination of an aversive conversation scenario. We assessed generalization to conversation probes with trained confederates and to interactions with untrained conversational partners (e.g. peers, professors) Finally, we collected peer ratings of the social validity of changes in conversational behavior as well as participants' ratings of study goals, procedures, and outcomes.

title: The Relationships Among Autism Spectrum Disorder Traits, Loneliness, and Social Networking Service Use in College Students.
abstract: This study aimed to explore the relationships among autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, loneliness, and social networking services (SNS) use. We created a questionnaire to evaluate manners during LINE use, which included five factors: "low literacy," "inactive use," "low responsiveness," "lack of consideration," and "low group activity." Structural equation modeling revealed that difficulties in attention switching and low communication skills were associated with low literacy, low social skills were associated with inactive use, and low literacy and inactive use were associated with loneliness. We suggested that SNS use plays a role in maintaining and enhancing friendships, whereas college students with higher ASD traits tend to use inappropriate manners for SNS, which is associated with loneliness.

title: Bottom Line: Who Pays for Communication Skills and Autism Services for Young Adults?Young adults with autism need help with social interaction and communication to get jobs or attend college, but health care funding rarely covers their speech language treatment.
abstract: Young adults with autism need help with social interaction and communication to get jobs or attend college, but health care funding rarely covers their speech language treatment.

title: A proposal for an evidence based online course to support executive functioning and social skills in postsecondary students with autism spectrum disorder
abstract: The population of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing as more individuals with ASD age into adulthood. Almost half of the children diagnosed with ASD who were surveyed in 2010 demonstrated average or above average intelligence (CDC, 2014) Despite promising intellectual abilities, only 17.4% of young adults with ASD enroll in a four year college, and only 38.8% of students with ASD graduate postsecondary education within eight years of leaving high school (Newman et al. 2011) Therefore, there is a growing niche for postsecondary support programs specifically designed for students with ASD. This doctoral project includes two parts: the development of an evidence based online course for postsecondary students with ASD and the proposed evaluation of the online course. There are five theoretical reasons for poor postsecondary outcomes for young adults with ASD: (1) the increasing prevalence of ASD, (2) the absence of a "golden standard" in postsecondary transition for young adults with ASD, (3) the existing differences between educational and disability rights legislation at the secondary and

title: Improving Daily Living Skills in College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Peer Mediated Daily Living Checklist Intervention
abstract: Author(s) Engstrom, Erin Advisor(s) Vernon, Ty; Koegel, Robert L Abstract: Research suggests individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with daily living skills that affect adaptive behavior, which are a major barrier to success in higher education settings. Adaptive behavior has been shown to be the single strongest predictor of positive outcomes for individuals with ASD, yet few interventions target the improvement of daily living skills within this population, with even fewer targeting college students. Since interventions that integrate motivational and peer mediated components have improved social communication in adults with ASD, it is possible that incorporating these methods into a daily living checklist, a type of self management intervention, may lead to improvements in daily living skills for this population as well. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the use of peer mediated motivational components would increase (1) the percentage of targeted daily living tasks completed per week. In addition, data was collected to systematically examine if this intervention would (2) increase measures of adaptive behavior skill; (3) decrease symptoms of depression; (4) decrease symptoms of anxiety; (5) increase measures of overall quality of life, and (6) improve quarterly academic grade reports. Three college students with ASD between the ages of 18 and 20 participated. A multiple baseline across participants design was used, where a baseline condition with a self management daily living checklist without peer mediation was compared to a peer mediated intervention condition with check ins by a peer mentor to complete the daily living checklist. Follow up data were collected for two participants four weeks after the completion of the intervention. (1) All participants increased the percentage of targeted daily living skill tasks completed each week with large effect sizes, with effects maintained at follow up for two participants. (2) All participants demonstrated some improvement on subdomains of the Daily Living Skill domain on the VABS III, and 2 participants improved their overall Adaptive Behavior Composite score on the VABS III. (3) All participants decreased their total score on the BDI II. (4) Two participants decreased their total score on the BAI. Additionally, (5) all participants maintained good ratings of quality of life as measured by the QLAA. Finally (6) 2 participants demonstrated maintenance of good academic standing following completion of the intervention. Results are discussed in regards to assisting college students with ASD with improving their daily living skills. Additionally, implications of findings and future directions related to the examination of collateral areas relating to mental health, quality of life, and academic performance are explored. Further research would be helpful to continue to develop and examine interventions to assist college students with ASD to live independently and successfully.

title: The use of musically adapted social stories to build social skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder
abstract: The Use of Musically Adapted Social Stories to Build Social Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder STUDENT: Kaitlin B. Cowan DEGREE: Doctor of Philosophy COLLEGE: Teacher's College DATE: December 2016

title: Effects of video modeling on communicative social skills of college students with asperger syndrome
abstract: Empirical support regarding effective interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within a postsecondary community is limited. Video modeling, an empirically supported intervention for children and adolescents with ASD, may prove effective in addressing the needs of individuals with ASD in higher education.  This study evaluated the effects of video modeling without additional treatment components to improve social communicative skills, specifically, eye contact, facial expression, and conversational turntaking in college students with ASD.  This study utilized a multiple baseline single case design across behaviors for two post secondary students with ASD to evaluate the effects of the video modeling intervention.  Large effect sizes and statistically significant change across all targeted skills for one participant and eye contact and turntaking for the other participant were obtained.  The use of video modeling without additional intervention may increase the social skills of post secondary students with ASD. Implications for future research are discussed.

title: Development of interaction during a social skills intervention group for emerging adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) A case study
abstract: It has been proposed individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may benefit from social skills support across the lifespan; however little is currently known about how to best structure social skills instruction for adults with ASD. A biweekly social skills group employing a naturalistic instructional discourse approach was conducted with four emerging adults with ASD who attended a college based inclusion program at a large state university. The intervention focused on developing participants' understanding of a partner's expectations related to appropriate responding to questions, comments, and short response tokens. Sessions were transcribed verbatim and coded to support detailed analysis. Feedback was solicited from participants, the program teacher, and neurotypical (NT) peers to investigate the social validity of this intervention. A case study approach supported in depth description of development over time in participantto participant interaction, participant involvement in social and instructional discussion, and participant attitude toward group activities. Emerging adults with ASD demonstrated an increased amount of contribution to group conversation and showed improvements in positive participant to participant interaction. Over the course of this group, social interaction time increased while instructional interaction time decreased. Implications for designing future group based social skills interventions for emerging adults with ASD are discussed.

title: Social Skills Training for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Overview and Implications for Practice
abstract: Social skills training for individuals with autism spectrum disorder is essential across the developmental lifespan. However, literature on this topic has historically focused on preschoolers and elementary students rather than adolescents and young adults. Adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder encounter unique social challenges in college settings, employment environments, and communities. Thus, social skills training for this population must adapt to the needs of the individual leading to complexities for educators during the development, implementation, and monitoring of the training protocol. The current article provides an overview of social skills training relevant to adolescent and young adults with autism spectrum disorder and implications for practice are