Title:

Navigating Nuanced Social Interactions With Young Adults With Autism

Community Partners is an area agency in New Hampshire that provides a large variety of developmental and behavioral health services to the members of Strafford County. These services include applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children, adolescents, and adults with autism at Spectrum Connection-a clinical setting, in home, and in community settings. A long-term goal of Spectrum Connection is to create a social skills group program for children, adolescents, and adults with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of this project aimed to create a technical manual for clinicians to begin providing these services. However, the project expanded through the research process as deficits in current research and resources around teaching social skills were uncovered. These deficits included current clinical practices in teaching complex social skills and supporting others in navigating nuanced social interactions. Through interviews with young adults with autism and their family members, as well as interviews with fellow clinicians, these deficits were highlighted and some possible solutions to current clinical practices are proposed for future research.

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