Communication without Barriers: Development of Intraverbal Skills in Adolescents with ASD in Group Sessions

Objectives. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poor intraverbal skills, which makes communication especially difficult for them because they appear disinterested in communication if they lack these skills. In a group of adolescents with ASD, work was carried out to study the level of development of intelligence and adaptive skills in order to develop a comprehensive program for the development of intraverbal skills for further socialization and increased independence. The work was carried out in three stages: assessment, program development, development of intraverbal skills.

Methods. The study involved 9 adolescents (3 girls and 6 boys) aged 11—13 years with ASD. At the assessment stage, the level of cognitive development was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Leiter-3 International Productivity Scale. Adaptive functioning was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. When determining the number of initiatives to communicate, the observation method was used with recording of data in information collection sheets. The group training program, compiled based on the diagnostic results of the participants, included practices with proven effectiveness: visual support methods, video modeling, social stories.

Results. Studies of intellectual development have revealed differences in the level of intelligence among the group participants: 3 people have an age norm level, 4 — a borderline level, 2 — a decrease in intellectual level. At the same time, the data on the Vineland school of adaptive behavior in all 9 study participants are below the age norm (the complex final indicator did not exceed 75), primarily due to violations in the field of socialization. This confirms the presence of communication difficulties in adolescents with ASD, regardless of the level of intellectual development. The identified common features and individual results of the participants were used to develop a comprehensive program of group classes on the formation of intraverbal skills in adolescents. The lessons took into account the existing deficits: difficulties in maintaining attention during communication, understanding the figurative meaning of words, recognizing facial expressions and gestures, as well as an excessive tendency to monologue.

Conclusions. The obtained data obtained and the results of observation of each study participant made it possible to develop a pilot comprehensive program of group classes aimed at developing intraverbal skills. At the end of the program, repeated testing is planned to compare changes in the main areas of life for all group participants.

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