Category Ranking
98%
Total Visits
921
Avg Visit Duration
2 minutes
Citations
20
Article Abstract
Background: Although autistic individuals are interested in interacting with peers, they express a need for social skills programs that could support them in navigating their daily social world, which is governed by neurotypical social norms.
Aim: This study investigated the feasibility and adaptability of the manualised and evidence-based program KONTAKT™ Social Skills Toolbox Group Program in supporting autistic children aged 8 to 12 years in navigating their everyday social worlds.
Material And Methods: KONTAKT™ was delivered to 15 autistic children (Mage=10.87, SDage=1.04; 67% male) over 16, 60-minute sessions. A pre-test and post-test design was employed evaluating changes in personally meaningful social goals, social skills, quality of friendship and autistic traits. Focus groups were also conducted and analysed using thematic analysis post completion of the program, exploring participants, their parents and the KONTAKT™ trainer's perceptions of the program.
Results: Findings suggest stakeholders' satisfaction with the program's content and structure, indicating the potential cross-age feasibility of KONTAKT™ in supporting autistic children to achieve their personally meaningful social goals and in improving their social performance navigating their daily social lives.
Conclusion And Significance: This feasibility study supported the finalisation of KONTAKT™ children's manual and workbooks, preparing it for further evaluation of its efficacy in a randomised controlled trial. (Australian New Zealand Clinical Registry: 12619000994189; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04024111).
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11622807 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/sjcapp-2024-0011 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Early Diagnosis and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Cureus
August 2025
Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, CRI.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome that impacts two main areas: social communication and restrictive or repetitive behaviors. Other symptoms and comorbidities may be manifested, according to the different clinical presentations and severity levels. ASD diagnosis can be performed by two years of age; however, certain diagnostic challenges may lead to a late diagnosis and significant intervention delay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF"Sandwiched Individuals" Exploring the Push and Pull Factors Influencing Retention Among Mid-Career Nurses: An Integrative Review.
J Adv Nurs
September 2025
Nursing Department, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Aim: To systematically analyse international empirical literature and establish a comprehensive understanding of the push and pull factors influencing retention and turnover among mid-career nurses.
Design: An integrative review.
Data Sources: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE (Ovid), and CINAHL (EBSCO) were searched for studies published between January 2001 and November 2024.
Pragmatics: Exploring language use by younger generations in Pedi families.
S Afr J Commun Disord
August 2025
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Department of Rehabilitative and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Fort Hare, East London.
Background: The people of the Pedi culture place great value on, and take pride in, adhering to their culture, as reflected in the manner in which they communicate verbally and non-verbally. However, little is documented about the ways in which verbal and non-verbal language is used socially by the younger generations in the Pedi culture.
Objectives: This article examines how verbal and non-verbal social language skills and functions are used by the younger generations in Pedi families.
Developmental outcomes of small infants at a high-risk clinic: A short-term longitudinal study.
S Afr J Commun Disord
August 2025
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
Background: Small infants face more developmental risks than their full-term peers, necessitating early intervention and long-term monitoring.
Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal developmental and hearing outcomes of small infants attending a high-risk clinic in a South African low-income community setting.
Method: A short-term longitudinal within-subject descriptive study design was employed, where 28 participants underwent hearing and developmental screenings and assessments at two follow-up appointments (T1 and T2), at 6- and 12-month corrected age.
Better movers, better friends? A test for the environmental stress hypothesis in typically developing primary school children.
Br J Dev Psychol
September 2025
Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, LEARN! Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Relations between children's motor skills and internalizing problems are poorly understood. The environmental stress hypothesis (ESH), originally developed for motor-impaired children, may provide understanding, yet has been scarcely examined in typically developing children. Therefore, we examined: (1) relations between children's motor skills and internalizing problems; (2) the role of secondary stressors, specifically interpersonal conflicts and externalizing problems; and (3) the role of personal resources, namely, prosocial behaviour and social self-efficacy (SSE).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF