Communication Training for Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence-Based Study

Objectives. Psycho-educational programs for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are aimed to train social and daily skills. The value of emotional exchange often remains outside the focus of teachers. However, the depression and self-harmful behavior experienced by young people with ASD are explained as a lack of social motivation and internal emptiness. The goal of present article is to evaluate the effectiveness of communication training as a safe space for emotional exchange.

Methods. The training is based on the idea of communication as a complex process of interaction, the dynamics of which is influenced by the experience of different type of relationships: mother-child, child-family, child-school, etc. The training involves work through each level of interaction. The trainig effectiveness was evaluated using a formative experiment aimed at assessment of changes in communication of young people with ASD. The experimental sample included 25 people with ASD aged 20 to 25 years (M = 22.7; SD = 1.7), 5 persons in each group. The control sample also included 25 people aged 21 to 25 years (M = 23.3; SD = 1.43). All participants are male. For the primary and control sections, observation units were developed: frequency of violation of social norms, number of completed communicative acts and frequency of social stress. For statistical processing, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Wil coxon W test were used.

Results. Using the Wilcoxon W test, the effectiveness of the impact of communicative training on the experimental group was proven: violation of social norms (W = 325; p ≤ 0.01; d = 2.04), completed communicative acts (W = 115; p ≤ 0.01; d = 0.89), social stress (W = 244; p ≤ 0.01; d = 1.04). Using the Mann-Whitney U test, the insignificance of the influence of group dynamics on the training effectiveness indicators in the control group was proven: violation of social norms (U = 615; p ≤ 0.01; d = 3.24), completed communicative acts (U = 184, 5; p ≤ 0.01; d = 0.86), social stress (U = 453.5; p ≤ 0.01; d = 0.93).

Conclusions. Consistent processing of experiences at the level of relationships: mother — child, child — family, child — school, etc. became an effective method for developing communication skills in young people with ASD. In the future, it is necessary to check the duration of the effect after the end of the training, as well as the transfer the acquired skills to other areas of life.

1. Aleksandrov I.O., Maksimova N.E. Tipologiya issledovanii D. Kempbella: osnovaniya i vozmozhnosti razvitiya [Typology  of D. Campbell’s research: foundations and opportunities for development]. In Eksperimental’nyi metod v strukture  psikhologicheskogo znaniya: Sbornik statei [Experimental method in the structure of psychological knowledge: Collected  articles]. Moscow: Publ. Psychology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2012. Pp. 49—56. ISBN 978-5-9270-0248-1. 
2. Andreeva G.M. Nasledie A.N. Leont’eva i sovremennaya psikhologiya sotsial’nogo poznaniya [Leontyev’s Heritage and  the Modern Psychology of Social Knowledge]. Mir psikhologii = World of Psychology, 2003, no. 2, pp. 124—134.
3. Boldyreva T.I., Shaporova I.E., Bugakova M.A. et al. Sovremennye podkhody k probleme autizma, ego differentsial’noi  diagnostike i korrektsii [Modern approaches to the problem of autism, its differential diagnosis and correction]. In Nauka i  obrazovanie: otechestvennyi i zarubezhnyi opyt: Sbornik trudov LI mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii  [Science and education: domestic and foreign experience: Proceedings of the 51st international scientific and practical  conference]. Belgorod: Publ. GiK, 2022. Pp. 432—435. ISBN 978-5-6048799-4-8. 
4. Varga A.Ya., Chernikov A.V., Zhuikova E. et al. Kruglyi stol, organizovannyi zhurnalom “Psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya  sem’i”: Eklektika i integratsiya v psikhoterapii [Roundtable organized by the “Psychology and psychotherapy of the  family” journal: Eclecticism and integration in psychotherapy]. Psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya sem’i = Psychology and  psychotherapy of the family, 2021, no. 2, pp. 20—40. DOI:10.24412/2587-6783-2021-10017 
5. Zakharov A.I. Dnevnye i nochnye strakhi u detei [Day and night fears in children]. Saint Petersburg: Publ. Soyuz, 2000.  448 p. ISBN 5-87852-130-X. 
6. Kunitsyna V.N., Kazarinova N.V., Pogol’sha V.M. Mezhlichnostnoe obshchenie: Uchebnik dlya vuzov [Interpersonal  communication: Higher education textbook]. Saint Petersburg: Publ. Piter, 2001. 383 p. ISBN 5-8046-0173-3.
7. Lebedinskaya K.S. Osobennosti psikhicheskogo razvitiya detei s autizmom pervykh dvukh let zhizni [Mental  Development Characteristics of Autistic Children of the First Two Years of Life] [Web resource]. Al’manakh Instituta  korrektsionnoi pedagogiki = Almanac Institute of Special Education, 2005, no. 9, pp. 32—42. URL: https://alldef.ru/ru/articles/almanah-9/osobennosti-psihicheskogo-razvitija-detej-s (Accessed 24.09.2023). 
8. Minakova A.D. Programma Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children  (TEACCH) kak sposob interatsii detei s autizmom v obshchestvo [The TEACCH program as a way to integrate  children with autism into society]. In Sovremennoe obrazovanie: aktual’nye voprosy, dostizheniya i innovatsii: Sbornik  statei IX Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii [Education Today: Current Issues, Achievements and  Innovations: Proceedings of the 9th international scientific and practical conference]. Penza: Publ. Nauka i prosveshchenie,  2017. Pp. 77—79. ISBN 978-5-906973-87-0. 
9. Mikhireva D.E., Dmitrievskikh L.S. Metod ABA-terapii v rabote s det’mi s rasstroistvami autisticheskogo spektra [The  method of ABA-therapy in working with children with autism spectrum disorders]. Vestnik Kurganskogo gosudarstvennogo  universiteta = Bulletin of Kurgan State University, 2018, no. 4, pp. 41—43. 
10. Nikol’skaya O.S., Baenskaya E.R., Libling M.M. Autichnyi rebenok: Puti pomoshchi [Autistic child: Ways of support].  Moscow: Publ. Terevinf, 2007. 288 p. ISBN 978-5-901599-16-7. 
11. Nikolskaya O.S. Treating autism with communication. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental  Disorders (Russia), 2016, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 35—38. DOI:10.17759/autdd.2016140406 
12. O ratifikatsii Konventsii o pravakh invalidov: Federal’nyi zakon no. 46- ФЗ [On ratifying the Convention on the Rights of  Persons with Disabilities: Federal law no. 46-FZ] [Web resource]. [Moscow], 3 May 2012. 1 p. URL: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201205040005 (Accessed 24.09.2023). 
13. Ob utverzhdenii federal’nogo gosudarstvennogo obrazovatel’nogo standarta nachal’nogo obshchego obrazovaniya  obuchayushchikhsya s ogranichennymi vozmozhnostyami zdorov’ya: Prikaz no. 1598 [On the approval of the federal state educational standard in elementary general education for students with disabilities: Order no. 1598] [Web resource] /  Ministry of education and science of Russia. [Moscow], 19 December 2014. 285 p. URL: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/ Document/View/0001201502060025 (Accessed 24.09.2023). 
14. Starikova O.V., Dvoryaninova V.V., Balandina O.V. Application of the Early Care Program Based on the Early Start  Denver Model for Children with ASD. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders (Russia),  2022, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 29—36. DOI:10.17759/autdd.2022200104 
15. Suvorova I.Yu. Kommunikativnyi trening dlya molodykh lyudei s rasstroistvami autisticheskogo spektra: uchebno metodicheskoe posobie [Communicative training for young adults with autism spectrum disorders]. Moscow: Publ.  RUDN University, 2019. 43 p. ISBN 978-5-209-08948-3. 
16. Fokina E.S., Sarkisyan A.A. Kommunikativnye bar’ery kak faktor riska v mezhlichnostnykh otnosheniyakh  [Communication barriers as a risk factor in interpersonal relationships]. Uchenye zametki TOGU = Scientific notes of the  PNU, 2019, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 92—96. 
17. Alves F.J., De Carvalho E.A., Aguilar J. et al. Applied behavior analysis for the treatment of autism: A systematic review  of assistive technologies. IEEE Access, 2020, vol. 8, pp. 118664—118672. DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3005296
18. Divya K.Y., Begum F., John S.E. et al. DIR/Floor Time in Engaging Autism: A Systematic Review. Iranian Journal of  Nursing and Midwifery Research, 2023, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 132—138. DOI:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_272_21
19. Fréchette L. Basic principles, Fundamental Concepts and Values in Bioenergetic Analysis. Clinical Journal for Bioenergetic  Analysis, 2022, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 43—49. DOI:10.30820/0743-4804-2022-32-43 
20. Gergen K.J. An Invitation to Social Construction: Co-creating the Future. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Publ. SAGE, 2022.  312 p. ISBN 978-1-52977778-9. 
21. Gerson G. Fairbairn, Winnicott, and Guntrip on the social significance of schizoids. History of the Human Sciences, 2022,  vol. 35, no. 3-4, pp. 144—167. DOI:10.1177/09526951211008078 
22. Greenspan S.I., Wieder S. Engaging autism: Using the Floortime approach to help children relate, communicate, and  think. Cambridge: Publ. Da Capo, 2006. 448 p. ISBN 0-7382-1028-5. 
23. James M. A “True-Enough Self”: Winnicott, Object Relations Theory, and the Bases of Identity. In Transitional Subjects:  Critical Theory and Object Relations. New York: Publ. Columbia University Press, 2019. Pp. 159—182. ISBN 978-0-231- 54478-8. DOI:10.7312/alle18318-007 
24. Muslim F., Irvan M. Effectiveness of the TEACCH Method to Improve the Executive Function Ability of Children  with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education 2022 (ICE 2022).  [Amsterdam]: Publ. Atlantis Press, 2023. Pp. 82—89. ISBN 978-2-38476-019-0. DOI:10.2991/978-2-38476-020-6_9 
25. Mohammadpour-Yazdi A.R., Dabbagh H. The insecure skin-ego: Conspiracy theories as a source of containment in a  pandemic. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 2023, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 17—29. DOI:10.1002/aps.1760
26. Nogay H.S., Adeli H. Diagnostic of autism spectrum disorder based on structural brain MRI images using, grid search  optimization, and convolutional neural networks. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 2023, vol. 79, pt. 2, article no.  104. 234-237 p. DOI:10.1016/j.bspc.2022.104234 
27. Proff I., Williams G.L., Quadt L.et al. Sensory processing in autism across exteroceptive and interoceptive domains.  Psychology & Neuroscience, 2022, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 105—130. DOI:10.1037/pne0000262 
28. Tustin F. Autism and childhood psychosis. New York: Publ. Routledge, 2018. 224 p. ISBN 978-0-429-91112-5.
29. Wang Z., Loh S.C., Tian J. et al. A meta-analysis of the effect of the Early Start Denver Model in children with autism  spectrum disorder. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 2022, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 587—597. DOI:10.1080/2 0473869.2020.1870419 
30. Zeidan J., Fombonne E., Scorah J. et al. Global prevalence of autism: A systematic review update. Autism Research, 2022,  vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 778—790. DOI:10.1002/aur.2696