Research: Concept Mastery Routines to Teach Social Skills to Elementary Children with High Functioning Autism

Authored by Laushey, KM, Heflin LJ, Shippen M., Alberto PA, and Fredrick L. in J Autism Dev Disorder, Volume 39, Issue 10, p. 1435-1448, (2009).

Article summary (posted Apr 13, 2010):

Direct visual approaches to teach social skills may be very helpful for children with autism who are mainstreamed in elementary school.

Students with high functioning autism, in the absence of social skills training, who are placed in the classroom with neurotypical peers may have problems with normal behavior. The purpose of this study was to see if concept mastery routines could be used to enhance the social skills of children with high functioning autism. Concept mastery routines are a type of direct training of social skills that uses a visual method of teaching. The children were also given many chances to practice their social skills with their peers. All four students in this study showed improved social skills after the use of concept mastery routines.

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autism, classroom, elementary school, high-functioning autism, neurotypical (NT), school, social skills groups, visual
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