Role of the Peers Program for Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Saima Khan1, Farhana Ambreen2 & Elizabeth Laugeson3

https://doi.org/10.62271/pjc.16.1.231.246

Abstract
This study aims to examine the efficacy of the PEERS intervention in enhancing social skills among adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study employed an experimental research methodology to determine the effects of the variables. The sample size was determined using G power. 182 individuals were selected, including 60 ASD
adolescents and 40 parents for the experimental group (EG). The control group (CG) consisted of 41 parents of 41 adolescents with ASD. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select individuals within the age range of 15 to 50 years old. The data were collected from two schools in Islamabad and one in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The data was examined utilizing SPSS version 25, and the ANOVA test was employed to check the analysis results. The results
demonstrated that the PEERS program is successful in improving the overall socialization of parents and adolescents with ASD. The present study indicated that PEERS has a crucial impact on improving socialization skills in parents and adolescents with ASD.

Keywords: PEERS, interventions, socialization skills, parents, teacher, Adolescents with ASD