Friendship interventions and measurements in children with ASD: A systematic review

BackgroundFriendships are vital to children's social well-being and overall development, and they can also serve as a protector factor from peer victimization and bullying. For children with ASD, friendship development can be an area of challenge. Friendship interventions may help children and adolescents with ASD in developing the skills for making and keeping friends.MethodThis systematic review examined friendship interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It also explored measures of friendship skills in children with ASD. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria: (a) experimental intervention studies focused on improving friendships of individuals with ASD, (b) the measurement of friendship outcomes, and (c) strong or acceptable methodological ratings.ResultsFifteen unique interventions were tested across the 27 studies. Thirteen interventions included strategies specifically focused on improving (making and maintaining) friendships in the participants with ASD. Friendship interventions were primarily focused on behaviorally based social skills building and varied in implementation settings. Friendship measures included the use of parent reports, child and adolescent surveys and questionnaires, peer nominations, and sociometric ratings.ConclusionThe results highlighted the benefit of including targeted friendship-building strategies in social and friendship interventions and the value of multiple perspectives when measuring friendship. The findings of the study can influence how families and practitioners collaborate to support children and adolescents with ASD in the development and maintenance of their friendships.