Social skills therapy that is done in the clinic by occupational therapists and at home by parents can help children with autism make friends.

This pilot study was designed to test whether or not social skills therapy can teach children with autism to make friends, greet friends, and play. The social skills therapy was designed in Singapore and used within the clinic with trained parent support at home. Success was based upon whether or not the parents thought that the children had improved. Unfortunately, the parents watched their children only after the eight social skills therapy sessions had ended (not before). The authors report that the program did help the children learn social skills.