School-based Social Interactions of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders Renee Hawkins, Ph.D., Laura Nabors Ph.D., Andrew Yockey, Stephanie Booker, B.A., B.S. University of Cincinnati Amanda Tipkemper, M.Ed. Children's Home of Cincinnati Abstract Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) often have difficulty with social interactions, creating problems in school and other occupational activities. The current study examined adolescent, parent, and teacher perceptions of friendships using interviews and surveys, and assessed classroom interactions using a behavior observation system. During the observation period, teachers noted the lack of student interactions and developed friendship goals for all adolescents to reward them for engaging in social interactions. Results indicated the intervention had a limited impact on improving social interactions; however, individualized plans may have an even greater impact on social development. During their interviews, adolescents reported they were often lonely and did not have many friends. Parents indicated their children needed to learn skills to improve peer interactions. Future research investigating the impact of teaching interaction/friendship skills around the students’ interests (e.g., sports, arts and crafts) may help them learn skills to interact more with peers. Introduction Autism Spectrum Disorders are neurodevelopmental diseases that affect cognition, social interaction, and maintaining friendships. Symptoms of ASDs that may impact social development:  Social interactions can be difficult: Social withdrawal, lack of communication, etc. (DSM-V, 2013).  Not many friends (lack the interpersonal skills needed to develop close friendships)  Lack of eye contact -Difficult time interpreting others’ emotions (DSM-V, 2013). While children with ASDs may appear uninterested in making friends, they report feeling lonely (Bauminger & Kasari, 2000). Most children may identify at least one friend. They may often realize that they have difficulty making friends and interacting with others (Bauminger et al., 2008; Locke et al., 2010; Rao et al., 2007). Interventions may reduce social isolation by improving communication skills and abilities to engage in activities and interactions with peers (Koegel, Koegel, & Schwartzman, 2013; Stichter, Randolph, Gage, & Schmidt, 2007). The current study extends the literature by examining interactions among youth with ASDs and other cognitive delays in a private high school setting. The impact of an intervention to improve youth social functioning also was assessed. Parents, teachers, and adolescents were interviewed to determine their perceptions of youth friendship and interaction skills. Method Participants. Twenty youth (17 boys and 3 girls) enrolled in a specialized high school setting serving adolescents with special needs. All diagnosed with either an ASD (90%, n = 18) or a significant cognitive delay (10%, n = 2; 1 boy and 1 girl). The majority of youth were Caucasian (n = 17) and 3 were African-American. Four teachers participated in interviews and 9 parents completed surveys. Method (cont.) Measurement Tools Behavior Observation Categories. (1) positive emotional expression (toward another person), (2) negative emotional expression, (3) asking questions, (4) interaction with a peer, and (5) interaction with a teacher Student Interviews. Questions: (1) “How do you make friends at school?” and (2) “What do you talk about with your friends at school?” Parent Surveys. Questions : (1) How does your child make friends?, (2) Does your child seem to enjoy social activities?, (3) Please write down reasons for your answer about whether your child enjoys social activities, (4) Does your child ever appear lonely?, and (5) What types of friendship skills are difficult for your child to engage in and why? Teacher Interviews. Questions : (1) What interventions do you commonly use to promote friendships between youth in the classroom?, (2) How do you promote ongoing and longer bouts of social interaction between students?, (3) What are areas for improvement for social interaction skills for the youth in your class? Procedures. This study was approved by a university-based institutional review board. Parent surveys and student interviews were conducted before and during the initial stage of observations. Teacher surveys were also implemented during the first weeks of observation. Interviews with teachers were conducted last. Scan-sampling method used to observe behavior. Observers signaled the beginning and end of observation periods and scanned an area of the classroom or the entire room during an observation. A friendship intervention was developed by the teachers using three goals: (1) beginning a conversation with another person, (2) joining in an interaction with others, and (3) offering to help a classmate. The token economy point system was used to reward adolescents for exhibiting a friendship goal.. Observations were recorded before (baseline) and after the intervention. Results and Discussion Chi-square analyses were used to examine change in behaviors 1. Expression of positive emotion during interactions increased and questions decreased post-intervention. Chi-squares for change in negative emotional expression, interactions with peers, and interactions with teachers did not reveal significant differences. It is noteworthy that interactions with peers increased and interactions with teachers decreased after implementation of the intervention, although differences were not statistically significant. Based on interviews, parents indicated children were lonely and had experienced few friendship opportunities outside of the school setting. 38% of the students interviewed could not explain how they made friends. Teachers indicated that individualized interventions for social skill development were needed for each adolescent. For instance, teachers reported that social skills goals should include improving empathy for others, reducing negative outbursts, respecting personal space of others, and improving students’ abilities to express their emotions with others. Adolescents engaged with others when talking about his/her own interests. The implementation of the friendship goals had a noticeable, but small effect on increasing social communication skills with peers. However, children with autism increased their communication when discussing self-interests; designing interventions around their interests may improve social interactions in classroom settings. Footnote. 1 Detailed results about observations and interview data are available from the authors. References will be provided upon request. s: or