Postdoctoral Scholar University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States
Disclosure(s):
Rebecca R. Kammes, PhD, LMFT: No financial or non-financial relationships to disclose
Abstract: Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display limited social engagement and initiation, reduced emotional responsiveness to peers, and limited imaginative play (APA, 2013). These concerns often lead to increased social isolation and limited peer relationships for these children as they struggle to engage with peers within school and community settings (Kasari et al., 2011). Parent-mediated socialization interventions have shown to aide preschool-aged children in increasing social skills and positive interactions and can be an effective intervention for long-term results (Tripathi et al., 2022). Summary: The topic of this presentation will be the PEERS for Preschoolers Intervention. The presentation will provide: background on the program and concerns it addresses related to social skills for preschoolers with autism and other social/behavioral challenges, information on implementation of the intervention both in-person and the parent-only telehealth groups, the usefulness of including parent training components in the intervention, outcome data of the intervention, suggestions for working with this population in the area of social skills and social networks, information on further PEERS trainings and how to become a certified provider, and end with a Q&A session
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Describe the content and format of the PEERS for Preschoolers intervention and its application to teaching social skills to preschoolers with autism.
Explain the usefulness of including parents in social skills training to increase the effectivness and generalizability for preschoolers.
Recognize the implementation and usefulness of telehealth delivered services for this population.