Manualized social skills group training for children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorder: protocol of a naturalistic multicenter, randomized controlled trial

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and interaction, and the presence of stereotyped, repetitive and restricted behavior, interests, and activities. Despite prior studies showing moderate efficacy of social skills group training (SSGT) for children and adolescents with ASD, its effectiveness remains unclear. To investigate the efficacy and effectiveness of SSGT, we have initiated a large randomized controlled multicenter trial of the manualized SSGT program ‘KONTAKT’ in N=288 children and adolescents with high functioning ASD and psychiatric comorbidities (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and depression) recruited from 14 clinical units. Based on stratification for age group (children vs. adolescents) and lengths of intervention (short vs. long), the participants are randomly assigned to SSGT KONTAKT training (n=144) or to treatment as usual (n=144). Outcomes are assessed by blinded teachers and unblinded parents on the Social Responsiveness Scale (primary outcomes), participant's self-reports, and clinician ratings using well-established instruments for adaptive skills, general psychopathology, and experienced stress (secondary outcomes). We expect that participants receiving SSGT KONTAKT will show improved social responsiveness and everyday functioning, decreased general symptom severity, and perceived stress compared to standard care. Moreover, we predict that participant characteristics such as genetic predisposition, age, IQ, sex, verbal skills, and comorbidity moderate treatment effects.