SKOLKONTAKT - Social Skills Training in a School Setting

Karolinska Institute

Status

Completed

Conditions

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Depression

Anxiety

Treatments

Behavioral: SKOLKONTAKT

Behavioral: Social activity group

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT04302818

SKOLKONTAKT

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study investigates the behavioral effects of an adapted manual-based social skills training program (SKOLKONTAKT) for the mainstream education plan delivered by school personnel, with pupils (15-20 years) with social-communication needs; either formally diagnosed (i.e. autism spectrum disorders or ADHD) or teacher-reported subclinical difficulties. N=40 are recruited from a community school in the Stockholm area (Sweden).

Full description

So far, research has failed to consider the effectiveness of social skills training in school settings, and has instead focused on clinical or laboratory settings. This approach presents an interesting paradox given that the primary goal of social skills training is to affect change in the child's behavior in everyday life including school. Research undertaken in authentic everyday environments is not only more likely to result in real world outcomes for children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD, but greater utility in guiding models of service delivery. The objective of the current line of research is to adapt and evaluate methods originally designed to support children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD in clinical settings ("KONTAKT"), to be feasible and effective in school settings, that can be conducted by school personnel, and are are applicable to children with autistic and inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive disorders, as well as other less defined special social needs ("SKOLKONTAKT").

Enrollment

33 patients

Sex

All

Ages

15 to 20 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Formally diagnosed autism spectrum disorder
Formally diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Teacher-reported subclinical social-communication special needs

Exclusion criteria

Severe psychiatric comorbidity that challenges administration of the group-intervention, including but not limited to severe oppositional defiant disorder
Severe psychiatric comorbidity that makes the participant to vulnerable to participate in the group-intervention, including but not limited to suicidality, severe depression