Effect of a motor-based role-play intervention on the social behaviors of adolescents with high-functioning autism: multiple-baseline single-subject design

OBJECTIVE. We examined the effect of a motor-based role-play intervention on the social skills of adolescents with high-functioning autism. METHOD. An ABA multiple-baseline design with three 3-mo phases occurring over 12 mo was used with 7 participants. Frequency of targeted verbal and nonverbal behaviors was tallied in each phase. Frequency data were analyzed using repeated-measures analyses of variance with post hoc comparisons to examine differences in targeted behaviors over the three phases. RESULTS. Three participants completed all three study phases, 2 completed Phase 2, and 2 completed Phase 1. All participants (N = 7) demonstrated improved social skill use in Phase 1. Participants completing Phase 2 (n = 5) further improved social skill use. Additional improvements were observed among participants (n = 3) who completed Phase 3. CONCLUSION. The intervention helped participants improve targeted social skill use. Further testing with larger samples and intervention modifications is warranted.