What youths with autism spectrum disorder and their parents want from social competence programs

Program designers develop a wide range of intervention programs to address the social challenges faced by children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but it is not clear how those programs are perceived by families of youth with ASD and the extent to which those programs are accessed. To explore the perceptions of families of youth with ASD, 12 youths with ASD and 15 of their parents participated in 45–60 minute interviews about social intervention programs and completed the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition. According to the families, the social programs created to help youth with ASD to socialize have not addressed their needs. The adolescents sought programs that provided activities that matched their interests and that were appropriate for their developmental stage. The parents reported that they were frustrated by barriers to service and weaknesses of design, which were obstacles to accessing programs that supported their children’s development. ISSN 1918-5227 Pages 116146 Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei This Article Open Access after 1 year is brought to you by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Exceptionality Education International by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact jspecht@uwo.ca. Recommended Citation MacCormack, J. W. (2017) What Youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Parents Want from Social Competence Programs. Exceptionality Education International, 27, 116-146. Retrieved from http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol27/iss1/7 Exceptionality Education International 2017, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 116–146 ISSN 1918-5227 116 What Youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Parents Want from Social Competence Programs Jeffrey W. H. MacCormack University of Lethbridge