Journal Article

Brief Report: A Job-Based Social Skills Program (JOBSS) for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Isenstein, Emily L, Foss-Feig, Jennifer H, Donnelly, Lauren, Gorenstein, Michelle, Ting, Wang A, Feldman Elyana, Giserman-Kiss Ivy

2020

Overview

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have low employment rates; even those who are employed have low wages and limited hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Job-Based Social Skills (JOBSS) curriculum, a manualized, 15-week, group-delivered intervention for adults with ASD. The intervention aimed to increase social-pragmatic skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment. Twenty-two adults were randomly assigned to either JOBSS intervention or wait-list control groups. Results showed significant improvement in social cognition, as reported by caregivers, among JOBSS group participants compared to wait-list control participants. Forty-five percent of intervention participants gained employment in the six months following participation. This curriculum has potential to improve social skills of adults with ASD, thereby increasing successful employment.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adults / Applied Behavior Analysis / Autism / Autism Spectrum Disorders / Autistic adults / Behavior Problems / Caregivers / Clinical trials / Cognition / Cognitive Restructuring / Communication Skills / Computers / Control Groups / Curricula / Employment / Employment Interviews / Employment Programs / Interpersonal Competence / Intervention / Interviews / Job Training / Participant Satisfaction / Peer Influence / Program Implementation / Psychological Patterns / Randomized Controlled Trials / Skills / Social cognition / Social interactions / Social perception / Social skills / Supported Employment / Theory of Mind / Verbal Communication / Video Technology / Visual Aids / Work skills / Worksheets