A Review of Social Skills Manuals for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose of This Review: Although there is a proliferation of published manuals with content addressing the social skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder available, there are few all-encompassing resources outlining the content of these sources including the curriculum focus and strategies suggested for teaching the content. The purpose of this review is to describe available social skills manuals so that practitioners can select curricula that address the needs of the individuals with ASD. Recent Findings: Twenty-five published manuals were identified, reviewed, and described by content, suggested structure for training, recommended strategies for delivery, and published efficacy research. Summary: All manuals had a focus on developing conversation skills but varied in other content. Ten manuals have a prescribed scope and sequence for content and an identified format for instruction. Efficacy research with adolescents was found for only five manualized programs and only three studies addressed generalization of social skills. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.