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A Pilot Study on the FEST program – Friendship and Emotional Skills Training for Children on the Autism Spectrum

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Abstract

Purpose

Social skills difficulties among children on the autism spectrum can impede social, emotional, and academic development, especially with increasing age and social demands. This pilot study examined the efficacy of a 5-week skill-building program for children on the autism spectrum. Although effective social skills programs are available for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), very few programs are explicitly intended for 10-12-year-old children.

Methods

This pilot study examined the efficacy of the 9-session Friendship and Emotional Skills Training (FEST Program) for children with ASD without intellectual disability. Participants were 22 children randomly assigned to the FEST Program or a delayed intervention control group. Eleven children (boys = 8; girls = 3) received the FEST Program in two separate groups, and 11 were wait-listed for a delayed intervention. Parents, teachers, and the children answered questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and a 3-month follow-up.

Results

Upon completing the FEST Program (post-intervention), parents reported an increase in overall social skills (on the Social Skills Rating System - SSRS) and a reduction on the Autistic Mannerisms factor (on the Social Responsiveness Scale - SRS) compared to the control group. These changes were also maintained at the 3-month follow-up. The children’s assessment also showed a significant increase in assertion (on the SSRS) post-intervention. Teachers also reported a significant reduction on the Autistic Mannerisms factor at the 3-month follow-up.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the FEST Program shows some promising results as one possibility for supporting children with ASD and their families in everyday life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The National Agency for Children and Families (Barna- og fjölskyldustofa), Reykjavik, Iceland

    Ágústa Á. Arnardóttir

  2. Children´s Mental Health Center for the Primary Health Care of the Capital Area (Gedheilsumistod barna Heilsugaeslu hofudborgarsvaedisins), Reykjavik, Iceland

    Laufey Á. Guðmundsdóttir & Dagmar Kr. Hannesdóttir

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Dagmar Kr. Hannesdóttir

  4. Department of Business Administration, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Freyr Halldórsson

  5. SOL clinic - Psychological and medical services for families, Kopavogur, Iceland

    Helga Auðardóttir

  6. Department of Psychology, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Laufey Á. Guðmundsdóttir & Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir

Authors
  1. Ágústa Á. Arnardóttir
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  2. Laufey Á. Guðmundsdóttir
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  5. Helga Auðardóttir
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  6. Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir
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Correspondence to Ágústa Á. Arnardóttir.

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The authors received a small grant from the Icelandic Directorate of Health Public Health Fund in 2019 to cover the cost of the incentives in the program. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Arnardóttir, Á.Á., Guðmundsdóttir, L.Á., Hannesdóttir, D.K. et al. A Pilot Study on the FEST program – Friendship and Emotional Skills Training for Children on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06099-z

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