Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
School Psychology
First Advisor
Kari A Oyen
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly have difficulties with social communication which is often targeted using social skills teaching (SST) (Mikami et al., 2014). These programs are effective, however, many lack evidence of social validity measures or procedures as well as generalization of the skills targeted in intervention. The current study investigated the skill acquisition of three participants through the use of social skills teaching embedded within a role-playing game. The primary dependent variable was the skill acquisition of each participant within the RPG setting. Immediate increases in level and trend were noted across participants for most skills following implementation of intervention. The second dependent variable, the generalization of skill acquisition to the classroom setting, was also noted to show increases of skill accuracy across participants following implementation of intervention. Single-case effect sizes were observed to be moderate to very large across participants and skills. The intervention was rated to be socially valid by both participants and teachers, however, teacher’s narrative reports indicated challenges with data collection. Limitations include small sample size, limited IOA for a specific skill, and barriers related to teachers collecting generalization data. Future directions include replication of the current study with different populations, differing generalization settings, alternate teacher data collection methods, and inclusion of participant’s feedback.
Subject Categories
Psychology
Keywords
Applied setting Autism Spectrum Disorder Generalization Role-Playing Game Single Case Design Social Skills
Number of Pages
127
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Libby Ann, Sales, "THE EFFECTS OF A GAME-BASED SOCIAL SKILLS INTERVENTION ON SOCIAL SKILLS ACQUISTION FOR AUTISTIC YOUTH IN TRAINING AND GENERALIZED SETTINGS" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. 346.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/346