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The Potential Effectiveness of Social Skills Groups for Adults with Autism

A recent survey of clinical services for individuals with autism (Howlin, 1998) indicated that a number of services were considering, or were actually in the process of, setting up groups for more able adolescents or adults with autism. However, there have been very few reports of the clients and strategies involved in such groups, of the practical problems associated with their organization, or of their general effectiveness. If professionals are to benefit from existing expertise in this area, systematic data are clearly required on the intervention strategies employed; the therapists involved; the group composition (age, ability and number of participants); and the frequency and number of sessions offered. In order to encourage more widespread sharing of information on how and for whom such groups can be made optimally effective, we begin with a report of a social skills group held at the Maudsley Hospital in London over the course of a year.