This article was downloaded by: [Heriot-Watt University]

On: 07 March 2015, At: 13:51

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

International Journal of School & Educational

Psychology
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/usep20

Effects of a Multimedia Social Skills Program in

Click for updates
Increasing Social Responses and Initiations of Children
With Autism Spectrum Disorder
a b c c d
Heidi M. Block , Keith C. Radley , William R. Jenson , Elaine Clark & Robert E. O'Neill
a
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
b
Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA
c
Department of Educational Psychology, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
d
Department of Special Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Published online: 06 Mar 2015.

To cite this article: Heidi M. Block, Keith C. Radley, William R. Jenson, Elaine Clark & Robert E. O'Neill (2015): Effects of a
Multimedia Social Skills Program in Increasing Social Responses and Initiations of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder,
International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/21683603.2014.923355

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2014.923355

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
 International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 00, 1–9, 2015
Copyright q International School Psychology Association
ISSN 2168-3603 print/ISSN 2168-3611 online
DOI: 10.1080/21683603.2014.923355

Effects of a Multimedia Social Skills Program

in Increasing Social Responses and Initiations
of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Heidi M. Block
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Keith C. Radley
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015

Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA

William R. Jenson and Elaine Clark

Department of Educational Psychology, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Robert E. O’Neill
Department of Special Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of Superheroes Social Skills, a multimedia
social skills package, in improving social responsiveness and social initiation behaviors of
four elementary school children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The program was
implemented in a public school setting in the southwestern United States for 30 min twice a
week across an 11-week period of time. Observations of participants’ social responses and
initiations during regularly scheduled recess periods showed substantial improvements in
social response behaviors and small effects for increasing social initiations. The overall
effects on social engagement were maintained at follow-up and scores on teacher-completed
social skills checklists further supported the observed improvements. Further, social validity
checklists by teachers, parents, and participants suggest acceptability of the intervention
procedures.
Keywords: Social skills training, autism spectrum disorder

Social deficits that limit a person’s ability to successfully
relate to others are the cardinal characteristic of autism
spectrum disorder (ASD; Carter, Davis, Klin, & Volkmar,
2005; Gutstein & Whitney, 2002). Specifically, children
with ASD have friendships of poorer quality than non-ASD
affected peers and report significant loneliness on self-
report measures (Bauminger, Shulman, & Agan, 2003).
Impairments in social relatedness in individuals with autism
are associated with negative outcomes throughout the
lifetime, such as chronic mental and physical health
problems, poor educational achievement, and employment
Correspondence should be addressed to Heidi M. Block,
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, 510 Chipeta
Way 1000, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. E-mail: heidi.block@utah.edu
difficulties (e.g., Howlin, Mawhood, & Rutter, 2000).
Although a number of interventions have been developed to
improve social skills of children with ASD (e.g., Bellini,
Akullian, & Hopf, 2007; Winner, 2005), many of these have
not been rigorously studied and have failed to meet criteria
for evidence-based practice as defined by Gersten et al.
(2005) and Horner et al. (2005) (Wang & Spillane, 2009).
Further, there has been limited evidence for methods that
not only increase prosocial behaviors but promote
maintenance of skills and generalization in different settings
(Bellini, Peters, Brenner, & Hopf, 2007). Components of
ASD intervention programs that have shown the greatest
promise to date for increasing target skill acquisition and
skill maintenance and generalization, however, include
video modeling (Bellini & Akullian, 2007), social scripts
 2 H. M. BLOCK ET AL.
(Wang & Spillane, 2009), peer-mediated instruction (Zhang
& Wheeler, 2011), and self-monitoring (Lee, Simpson, &
Shogren, 2007).
Research has shown that in order for interventions to be
effective, components must be systematically implemented
(Bellini & McConnell, 2010; Shernoff, Kratochwill, &
Stoiber, 2003). According to Dingfelder and Mandell (2011),
part of the problem in proper implementation of interven-
tions in schools, at least, is the lack of a corresponding
curriculum that reflects the instructional strategies and
techniques that are being used. Surprisingly few curriculum-
based programs, however, have been designed for use within
a school setting and have publically available manuals (Lord
et al., 2005). Adding to this problem is the fact that many
interventions have not been found to be feasible in terms of
resources, including funds to support personnel training and
personnel time to implement the intervention (Bellini &
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
McConnell, 2010; Collier-Meek, Fallon, Johnson, Sanetti, &
Delcampo, 2012). Limited school personnel prepared to
implement interventions for student with ASD is especially
problematic for non-Western countries where the workforce
is already strained in providing services to children with
disabilities. ASD is thought to affect people in countries all
over world; however, relatively little is known about the
ways in which sociocultural contexts affect the acceptability
and the use of different types of treatments (Grinker,
Yeargin-Allsopp, & Boyle, 2011).
The Superheroes Social Skills (Jenson et al., 2011)
program is a multimedia social skills curriculum that is
intended for elementary-age children with social skills
problems, in particular, those with ASD who have normal or
near normal intelligence. Superheroes was not only
designed to incorporate the aforementioned practices that
have been found to promote acquisition and maintenance of
discrete social skills, namely video-modeling, self-moni-
toring, and peer-mediated instruction, it was designed to
appeal to children. This was done by incorporating high-
interest media in the form of animated superheroes who
teach discrete social skills steps. The program is manualized
to ensure utility and high levels of fidelity regardless of the
person who is implementing it. Although Superheroes
Social Skills is a relatively new social skills training
program, initial investigations have shown support for the
usefulness of the intervention for increasing social
engagement of children with ASD, including cases where
it has been facilitated by parents who receive training and
coaching (Radley, Jenson, Clark, & O’Neill, 2014). Studies
have also shown that the video modeling and self-
monitoring strategies included in the program have
promoted maintenance of the target skills (e.g., Wang &
Spillane, 2009). Lastly, the Superheroes program incorpor-
ates several practices that are consistent with strategies
found to promote generalization: exploiting functional
contingencies through incorporating non-ASD affected
peers in the training process; allowing social skills
participants to contact naturally maintaining contingencies
of social behaviors; training diversely by utilizing video
models, role-plays, and social scripts that expose children to
multiple stimulus and response exemplars of target social
skills; and incorporating functional mediators of behavior
through self-monitoring of social skill use within and
outside the training session (e.g., Stokes & Osnes, 1989).
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the current study was to determine whether
the Superheroes Social Skills program would increase social
initiations, defined as beginning a social sequence through
verbal or nonverbal communication, and social responses,
defined as appropriately responding to verbal or nonverbal
communication from a peer, of high-functioning, elemen-
tary-age children with ASD in a public school setting.
As previous research has found social skills training to be
limited by poor maintenance and generalization effects
(Bellini et al., 2007), the current study sought to evaluate
whether incorporation of multiple intervention strategies
(i.e., video modeling, social scripts, peer-mediated instruc-
tion, self-monitoring) may improve intervention outcomes.
Further, the study evaluated treatment fidelity, social
validity, and consumer satisfaction of the social skills
curricula as implemented in a school setting by school
personnel (i.e., school psychologist). The evaluation of
school-based social skills interventions is particularly
important, as the majority of published social skills research
has been conducted in university or clinical settings
(McMahon, Lerner, & Britton, 2013).
METHOD
Participants and Setting
Elementary-age children diagnosed with ASD were
nominated for inclusion in the study by their regular and
special education teachers. Participants attended a public
elementary school located in a metropolitan area of the
southwestern United States. Potential participants met
inclusion criteria of a Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children—Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003)
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) score of 69 or above,
demonstration of age-appropriate receptive and expressive
language skills as reported by teachers and parents, and a
current clinical diagnosis (autistic disorder, Asperger’s
disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise
specified) or current educational classification under autism.
All four participants were diagnosed by licensed psychol-
ogists or physicians with autism expertise, or had
educational classifications made by school multidisciplinary
teams. Further confirmation of ASD was made through the

administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation
Schedule (ADOS; Lord, Rutter, DiLavore, & Risi, 1999),
the Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS; Gilliam,
2001), and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS;
Constantino, 2002). Four same-age non-ASD affected
classroom peers were nominated by teachers for partici-
pation in the Superheroes Social Skills training program for
demonstration of developmentally appropriate social skills
within the classroom. Parents of potential participants were
provided with detailed information regarding the purpose
and procedures of the study and were given consent and
assent forms to sign upon agreement to participate. Prior to
baseline data collection, the consent and assent forms had to
be signed and returned to the primary investigator.
Pseudonyms are used throughout. Sandrine, a 9.2-year-
old Caucasian female, had a previous educational classifi-
cation of autism. Sandrine’s ADOS Total Score of 8 met the
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
autism spectrum cutoff. Administration of the WISC-IV
revealed a Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) score of 90 and a VCI of 93.
Sam, an 8.1-year-old Caucasian male, also had a previous
educational classification of autism. Sam received an ADOS
Total Score of 8, meeting the autism spectrum cutoff.
Administration of the WISC-IV revealed a FISQ score of 80
and a VCI score of 87. Vikas, a 9.6-year-old Caucasian male,
had received a previous clinical diagnosis of Asperger’s
Disorder. Vikas’ diagnosis was confirmed through an ADOS
Total Score of 13, exceeding the autism cutoff. On the
WISC-IV, Vikas received a FSIQ score of 123 and a VCI
score of 126. Thomas, an 8.2-year-old Caucasian male, had a
previous clinical diagnosis of PDD-NOS. Administration of
the ADOS confirmed clinical diagnosis, with the ADOS
Total Score a 17, a score that exceeds the autism cutoff.
Thomas’s WISC-IV FSIQ score was 76 and VCI score 69.
Facilitation of the intervention took place in a school
office, approximately 3.5 m by 3.5 m. The room was
equipped with a computer and 17-inch monitor, which were
used for viewing video components of the Superheroes
Social Skills program. Foam squares were used to mark
seating locations on the floor, placed approximately 1.5 to
2 m from the computer monitor. Other materials present in
the training environment, but not utilized for social skills
training, included a desk, bookshelves, and a filing cabinet.
Observations of social initiations and responses were
conducted during participants’ regularly scheduled recess
periods. Participants had access to playground equipment
(e.g., monkey bars, slides), a large grass field, and a blacktop
area with basketball and tetherball. Approximately 100
same-grade, non-ASD affected peers were present during
each recess period.
Dependent Measures
The primary dependent variables of the current study were
social initiations and responses of participants during
unstructured recess periods. Observations during recess
EFFECTS OF MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL SKILLS 3
were conducted, on average, once every other week. Recess
periods were, on average, 15 min in duration. Recess periods
were filmed for coding of social initiations and responses
using 10-s partial interval recording. Definitions of social
initiations and responses were adapted from Bellini,
Akullian, and Hopf (2007). Social initiations were defined
as the beginning of a social sequence through verbal or
nonverbal communication directed toward a peer, distin-
guished from any previous sequence of social engagement.
A social initiation was distinguished from previous social
engagements through a change in activity or a discontinu-
ation of a previous engagement for at least 5 s. Examples of
behaviors coded as social initiations included, but were not
limited to, (a) requesting information or assistance from a
peer, (b) joining in an activity or other interaction
independently, (c) greeting a peer or giving a compliment,
or (d) giving, sharing, or showing an object. Social
responses were defined as responding to verbal or nonverbal
communication from a peer with an appropriate verbal or
nonverbal response, or continuation of a sequence of social
engagement without discontinuation of greater than 5 s.
Examples of behaviors coded as social responses include (a)
appropriately responding to a request for assistance or
information, (b) joining in an activity or other interaction
when invited by a peer, (c) appropriately responding to a
greeting or compliment from a peer, (d) appropriately
looking, grabbing, or holding an object when shown by a
peer, or (d) continuation of a social interaction previously
coded as an initiation or response.
As a secondary dependent variable, the Autism Social
Skills Profile (ASSP; Bellini & Hopf, 2007) was completed
by one parent and one teacher for each participant prior to
the collection of baseline data and following collection of
follow-up data to assess changes in ratings of social
behaviors of participants. The ASSP is a 49-item scale
designed to assess social engagement abilities of children
with ASD and to monitor progress associated with
intervention. The ASSP yields a total score and three
subscale scores: Social Reciprocity, Social Participation/
Avoidance, and Detrimental Social Behaviors. Higher
ASSP scores indicate better social functioning.
Social Validity
Social validity of the Superheroes Social Skills program was
assessed using the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale
(BIRS; Von Brock & Elliot, 1987). The BIRS is a 24-item
Likert scale that evaluates three factors important to social
validity: acceptability, effectiveness, and time of effect
(Elliot & Treuting, 1991). One parent and one teacher of
each participant completed the BIRS. Child participant
satisfaction was assessed using the Child Consumer
Satisfaction Survey (CCSS), a nine-item measure developed
for the current study. Using items derived from the BIRS,
the CCSS allows for a child participant to rate the
 4 H. M. BLOCK ET AL.
acceptability of intervention procedures. The CCSS was
administered to both participants with ASD and typically
developing peers who participated in social skills training.
Study Design
A single-subject replicated AB design was utilized to
evaluate the effect of Superheroes Social Skills training on
social engagement of children with ASD. AB designs with
replication are useful in applied research and case study, a
critical element in development of practice-ready interven-
tions (Dingfelder & Mandell, 2011). AB designs are
frequently utilized by educational personnel and are sufficient
for demonstrating student improvement over a brief period of
time (Alberto & Troutman, 2008).
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
Procedures
Baseline
Once per week during the baseline phase, participants with
ASD were observed during their regularly scheduled recess
periods. Four baseline observations were conducted for
Sandrine and Sam. Due to absences, three observations of
social initiations and responses during baseline were
collected for Vikas and Thomas. Peers available during
recess periods were consistent across recess periods, as
participants attended recess periods with their same-grade,
typically developing classmates. During recess periods,
participants with ASD had unrestricted access to free play
on playground equipment, in a field, on a track, or blacktop
area where there were ball games (e.g., basketball and
tetherball). Data were collected using a video camera by an
unobtrusive observer who frequented the playground prior
to collection of baseline data to minimize participant
reactivity.
Intervention
Social skills training using the Superheroes Social Skills
program was conducted twice a week for 11 weeks, for a
total of 22 social skills training sessions. One session took
place at the beginning of the week and one near the end of
the week. Each session was approximately 30 min in
duration. Although the Superheroes Social Skills program
consists of 18 social skills lessons, only the first 12 lessons
were presented in the current study due to time constraints
associated with summer recess of the school. Groups were
facilitated by a school psychologist and a trained graduate
assistant. Specifically, the school psychologist presented the
social skills curriculum, while the assistant provided
reinforcement for the participant’s attending to the lesson
and successfully practicing the target skill using an
interdependent group contingency as described by Radley
(2010).
A total of 12 social skills were presented to participants,
with a new skill being introduced each week. The skills
presented were: Introduction to the Group, Get Ready,
Following Directions, Reducing Anxiety, Participate,
Imitation, Body Basics, Expressing Wants and Needs,
Joint Attention, Turn Taking, Responding to Questions, and
Conversation/Topic Maintenance. The lessons presented in
the current study represent the foundational and intermedi-
ate skills included in the program. Ten of the 12 social skills
were presented in two sessions, while the Introduction to the
Group and Get Ready were presented in one session each
during the first week of intervention. Intervention
procedures followed the Superheroes Social Skills inter-
vention manual. Each lesson presented to the group
followed the following format: (a) group facilitator
welcomed participants to group; (b) via DVD, animated
superheroes introduced the new social skill and provide
rationale; (c) the target skill was presented in three to five
discrete steps by the animated superheroes; (d) video
models of elementary-age children successfully demon-
strating the target skill were viewed; (e) participants
engaged in role-plays targeting the social skill with typically
developing peers; (f) an animated social comic was viewed;
(g) a social game, which provided practice of the target
skills, was played; and (h) children were reinforced
contingent upon behavior during social skills training.
Prior to exiting each training session, children were
provided social skills homework, which consisted of
recording successful skill use through self-monitoring and
reading the social script at home.
Observations of social initiations and responses during
recess took place during participants’ regularly scheduled
recess periods. Six observations of social initiations and
responses were conducted during participants’ recess
periods. Observations of recess periods were made, on
average, every other week. Participants with ASD were not
restricted to any area of the playground and could interact
with any peer available during observations.
Follow-up
Two weeks following conclusion of the intervention phase,
follow-up observations of social engagement during 10-min
recess periods were completed. Two follow-up observations
of social engagement during recess periods were completed
for Sandrine, Sam, and Vikas, with three follow-up
observations conducted for Thomas.
Data Analysis
The efficacy of the Superheroes Social Skills program was
evaluated through the computation nonoverlap of all pairs
(NAP). NAP is an index of data overlap between phases,
which has been found to strongly correlate with the
established effect size index, R 2, and is calculated using

procedures described by Parker and Vannest (2009). NAP
has been found to have good discriminability of effects,
surpassing the discriminability of other indices of data
overlap. According to Parker and Vannest, NAP scores
between 0 and 0.65 may be considered weak effects, 0.66 to
0.92 are interpreted as moderate effects, and scores ranging
from 0.92 to 1.0 are considered strong effects. Visual
analysis of mean level, trend, and variability was also
utilized to determine the efficacy of the social skills
intervention.
Interrater Agreement and Treatment Integrity
Prior to collection of baseline data, the school psychologist
and the independent observer reviewed the definitions of
social interactions and social responses. An observation
training video was then used to practice performing
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
observations. Practice observations were repeated until a
minimum interrater agreement of 90% was established.
Interrater agreement was calculated point-by-point by
dividing the number of agreements by the total number of
agreements and disagreements and multiplying by 100.
Interrater agreement was collected during 20% of intervals
during each phase of the study, with average reliability
95.0%.
Treatment integrity of the intervention was assessed
through completion of a Superheroes Social Skills manual-
derived checklist of facilitation steps. Integrity checklists
were completed at the end of each social skills session by
the school psychologist and a graduate assistant rater during
each social skills session. The mean treatment integrity was
100% and so was the interrater agreement for all treatment
sessions.
RESULTS
Effects of Social Skills Training on Social Initiations and
Responses
Social initiations
Social initiations of Sandrine were observed during an
average of 3.3% of baseline intervals. During intervention,
increased variability and mean level improvements
(M ¼ 11.3%) were observed. Sandrine’s initiations demon-
strated an increasing trend during follow-up, with initiations
observed during a mean of 24.2% of intervals (Figure 1).
Although improvements in initiations represent strong NAP
effects at intervention and follow-up (Table 1), visual
analysis suggests smaller improvements. For Sam, social
initiations were low and stable during baseline, observed
during an average of 3.3% of intervals. Sam’s initiations
during baseline demonstrated a slightly increasing trend with
a mean improvement to 11.7% of observed intervals. Stable
levels of initiations were observed during follow-up
EFFECTS OF MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL SKILLS 5
(M ¼ 11.4%). Whereas visual analysis suggests small
improvements in Sam’s initiations, calculation of NAP
suggests strong effects. Vikas demonstrated low and stable
social initiations during an average of 0.6% of baseline
intervals, with minimal change during intervention
(M ¼ 2.0%). Vikas demonstrated stable initiations during
follow-up (M ¼ 3.3%). Despite NAP suggesting moderate to
strong effects, visual analysis suggests minimal change across
phases. Social initiations of Thomas were observed during an
average of 0.5% of baseline intervals. Increased variability in
Thomas’s initiations was observed during intervention,
increasing to a mean of 4.8%. A slightly decreasing trend
with a mean level improvement (M ¼ 7.7%) was observed for
Thomas’s initiations at follow-up. A moderate effect was
calculated using NAP at intervention and a strong effect at
follow-up, whereas visual analysis suggests small intervention
effects.
Social responses
For Sandrine, social responses were observed during an
average of 3.3% of baseline intervals (Figure 1). Improve-
ments in trend and level were observed, with responses
observed during a mean of 39.4% of intervention intervals.
Although mean level of responses decreased from interven-
tion to follow-up (M ¼ 23.3%), an increasing trend was
observed. Visual analysis suggests substantial improvements
in social responses during intervention, with NAP calcu-
lations suggesting strong intervention effects (Table 1). Sam
demonstrated social responses during an average of 19.6% of
baseline intervals. Variable levels of responding were
observed during a mean of 37.0% of intervention intervals,
with an increasing trend during follow-up intervals
(M ¼ 46.3%). Visual analysis of Sam’s response data
suggests moderate effects, with NAP calculations interpreted
as strong effects. Vikas engaged in social responses during an
average of 2.6% of baseline intervals. Introduction of social
skills training resulted in increasing trend and improved mean
level of social initiations (M ¼ 36.0%). Follow-up data
suggest a declining trend in social engagement (M ¼ 14.2%).
Moderate NAP scores were calculated at intervention and
follow-up. Social responses of Thomas were observed during
an average of 2.2% of baseline intervals. Immediate
improvements were observed in responses following
introduction of social skills training (M ¼ 44.0%). However,
responses demonstrated a declining trend during the final
intervention phase observation. During follow-up, Thomas’s
social responses demonstrated a return to intervention levels
(M ¼ 69.3%). Calculation of NAP suggested strong inter-
vention effects.
Autism Social Skills Profile
Both parents and teachers completed the ASSP for the
participants with ASD prior to the beginning of the study and
 6 H. M. BLOCK ET AL.
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015

FIGURE 1 Percentage of intervals of social initiations, social responses and total social engagement during recess

TABLE 1
Effect Sizes Calculated Using NAP During Intervention and Follow-Up

Sandrine Sam Vikas Thomas

Intervention Initiations 0.93 0.93 0.83 0.78

(0.23– 1.52) (0.23 –1.52) (20.04–1.38) (0.15–1.26)
Intervention Responses 1.00 1.00 0.86 0.96
(0.36– 1.64) (0.11 –1.39) (0.29–1.70) (0.29–1.71)
Follow-up Initiations 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
(0.11– 1.88) (0.11 –1.88) (0.05–1.95) (0.16–1.84)
Follow-up Responses 1.00 1.00 0.83 1.00
(0.11– 1.88) (0.11 –1.88) (20.28–1.62) (0.16–1.84)

Note. NAP effect size interpretation, 0.0 to 0.65 ¼ small effect; 0.66 to 0.92 ¼ moderate effect; 0.93 to 1.0 ¼ strong effect (Parker & Vannest, 2009).
Strong effects in bold. 90% confidence intervals in parentheses.
 EFFECTS OF MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL SKILLS 7

again when the follow-up observations were complete.
Table 2 summarizes individual participant ASSP Total and
subscale scores. A paired sample t-test was conducted to
compare ASSP scores prior to and following social skills
training. Parent-completed ASSPs revealed an improving
trend in Total social skills from preintervention
(M ¼ 110.00, SD ¼ 11.86) to postintervention (M ¼
120.25, SD ¼ 12.69), but results did not reach statistical
significance, t(3) ¼ 1.48, p ¼ 0.23. Teacher-completed
ASSPs revealed significant improvements in Total social
skills, t(3) ¼ 4.16. p ¼ 0.03, from preintervention
(M ¼ 101.25, SD ¼ 9.10) to postintervention (M ¼
129.00, SD ¼ 8.91). While significant improvements were
observed in the teacher-completed Social Reciprocity scale,
t(3) ¼ 4.91, p ¼ 0.02, all other teacher and parent-
completed subscales demonstrated improving ratings of
participant behavior but did not reach statistical significance.
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
and teachers rated the Superheroes Social Skills program as
highly favorable (M ¼ 5.11).
Satisfaction of the participants and their non-ASD
affected peers used in the study was assessed upon
conclusion of follow-up observations by administration of
the CCSS. Items on the CCSS are rated from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher overall scores
reflecting greater consumer satisfaction. The results of the
CCSS found that both participants with ASD and typically
developing peers were satisfied with the social skills
program (M ¼ 3.28).
DISCUSSION
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of
the Superheroes Social Skills program on social initiations

and social responses of four elementary school-age children

with ASD. Results showed improvements and maintenance
of social response skills in all participants, though smaller
Social Validity changes were observed in social initiations. Teacher-
Upon completion of follow-up observations, parents and completed ASSP Total scores further indicate that social
teachers completed the modified BIRS to assess the social skills training contributed to improved social functioning of
skills training program. This instrument employs a Likert participants in nontraining environments other than recess
scale, with a 1 (strongly disagree) representing the least periods, as participants generalized the use of their newly
favorable opinion and a 6 (strongly agree) representing the acquired social skills to different environments within the
most favorable opinion. Data were collected from one school. Although Bellini and Akullian’s (2007) meta-analysis
teacher and one parent of each participant. Overall, parents of school-based social skills training showed little general-
ization of effects, the results of the current study demonstrate
that social skills programs that are comprised of multiple
TABLE 2 strategies that address Stokes and Osnes (1989) categories of
Pre- and Postintervention ASSP Scores generalization can help to improve social engagement of
children outside the treatment environment, including recess.
Sandrine Sam Vikas Thomas Mean
Despite the fact the acquisition of trained social skills
Total Scale—Parent was not directly assessed in this study, observed improve-
Pre 100 120 101 114 110.0 ment in social engagement during recess periods is thought
Post 103 127 132 119 120.3 to be due to development of social skills that were targeted
Social Reciprocity—Parent
Pre 37 49 25 41 38.0
during the social skills training program. Children with ASD
Post 37 51 40 44 43.0 have been shown to interact with fewer peers and are
Social Participation—Parent engaged for shorter periods of time during recess than non-
Pre 24 31 19 25 24.8 ASD affected children (Anderson, Moore, Godfrey, &
Post 28 30 39 25 30.5 Fletcher-Flinn, 2004; Gutierrez, Hale, Gossens-Archuleta,
Detrimental Behaviors—Parent
Pre 21 29 30 29 27.3
& Sobrino-Sanchez, 2007), thus limiting opportunities for
Post 20 29 35 29 28.5 developing important social skills and receiving positive
Total Scale—Teacher reinforcement from nonaffected peers for appropriate
Pre 89 103 102 111 101.3 interactions.
Post 136 124 119 137 129.0 Both visual and statistical analysis showed substantial
Social Reciprocity—Teacher
Pre 30 33 31 33 31.8
improvements in social responses of all participants with
Post 46 45 36 47 43.5 ASD in the study. Improvements in social initiations,
Social Participation—Teacher however, were less clear, that is, visual analyses showed
Pre 23 29 23 26 25.3 small increases in social initiations despite statistically
Post 37 30 28 47 35.5 significant changes. Greater improvement in social
Detrimental Behaviors—Teacher
Pre 20 26 30 36 28.0
responses over initiations following social skills training
Post 32 29 37 35 33.3 has been found in other studies, including one by McMahon,
Vismara, and Solomon (2012) and Radley et al. (2014),
 8 H. M. BLOCK ET AL.
suggesting that social responses may be more easily
addressed through social skills training than social
initiations. Improvements in social response are encoura-
ging since this has been found to be a better predictor of
social and communicative skills in adults who have ASD
than social initiations during childhood (Gillespie-Lynch
et al., 2012).
Although the Superheroes Social Skills program needs
further study, including investigation with more diverse
groups of children and larger numbers, current data show
that it has promise to fill a need for a practice-ready
intervention curricula that can be used by different school
personnel (Dingerfelder & Mandell, 2011), and easier to
learn than many others (Lerman, Vorndran, Addison, &
Kuhn, 2004; Maurice, Mannion, Setso, & Perry, 2001).
Further, the current study showed that school staff was able
to reliably implement the intervention and effect a change in
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
terms of the students with ASD’s social responses. It is also
important to note that the intervention was effective across
individuals with varying degrees of disability, suggesting
that Superheroes Social Skills may be effective in
addressing social skills across the spectrum without
modifying the curriculum.
To better understand the observed changes in social
response, however, future studies investigating this program
need to use more experimental designs that will allow the
researchers to demonstrate functional relations, and thus
rule out other variables that may explain the effects that are
found. Extending the collection of intervention data to
ensure greater stabilization of initiations and responses
would also be advised, as time constraints at the end of the
school year did not allow for data to be collected to explain
trends such as decline in performance for two of the
participants. Studies in countries besides the United States
would also be very important to determine the effects of the
Superheroes Social Skills curriculum in different socio-
cultural contexts and with children who are still English-
speaking but have different ethnic backgrounds.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the current study provide support for the use
of the Superheroes Social Skills program in increasing
social engagement of children with ASD and use in
elementary schools. According to Bowen, Jenson, and Clark
(2004), factors that increase the likelihood that school
personnel will use an intervention include (a) time required
for implementation, (b) complexity of intervention pro-
cedures, (c) costs associated with implementation, (d)
student interests in the intervention, (e) risks associated with
implementation, (f) social validity, and (g) efficacy of the
treatment. Superheroes Social Skills meets these require-
ments, and data from the study show that it is a practice-
ready social skills intervention for English-speaking
children with ASD. To what extent the Superheroes
program will be shown to have the same effects, or high
appeal, to children and school personnel outside the United
States is unclear, but warrant investigation given the
challenges that all countries are facing in addressing the
unique needs of children with ASD.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Superheroes Social Skills program was developed for the Utah
State Office of Education. Heidi M. Block, Keith C. Radley,
William R. Jenson, and Elaine Clark are coauthors of the
Superheroes Social Skills program. They do not benefit from the
commercial sale of the program, nor were the data in the present
article part of research funded by the commercial publisher.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Heidi M. Block, PhD, is a research associate at the University of
Utah.
Keith C. Radley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at
the University of Southern Mississippi.
William R. Jenson, PhD, is a Professor of Educational Psychology
at the University of Utah.
Elaine Clark, PhD, is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the
University of Utah.
Robert E. O’Neill, PhD, is a Professor of Special Education at the
University of Utah.
REFERENCES
Alberto, P., & Troutman, A. (2008). Applied behavior analysis for teachers
(8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Anderson, A., Moore, D., Godfrey, R., & Fletcher-Flinn, C. (2004). Social
skills assessment of children with autism in free-play situations. Autism,
8, 369 –385.
Bauminger, N., Shulman, C., & Agam, G. (2003). Peer interaction and
loneliness in high functioning children with autism. Journal of Autism
and Developmental Disorders, 33, 489 –507.
Bellini, S., & Akullian, J. (2007). A meta-analysis of video modeling and
video self- modeling interventions for children and adolescents with
Autism Spectrum Disorders. Council for Exceptional Children, 73,
264–287.
Bellini, S., & Hopf, A. (2007). The development of the Autism Social Skills
Profile: A preliminary analysis of psychometric properties. Focus on
Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 22(2), 80–87.
Bellini, S., Akullian, J., & Hopf, A. (2007). Increasing social engagement in
young children with autism spectrum disorders using video modeling.
School Psychology Review, 36, 80–90.
Bellini, S., & McConnell, L. (2010). Strength-based educational
programming for students with autism spectrum disorders: A case for
video modeling. Preventing School Failure, 54, 220–227.
Bellini, S., Peters, J., Brenner, L., & Hopf, A. (2007). A meta-analysis of
school-based social skills interventions for children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 153–162.

Bowen, J., Jenson, W., & Clark, E. (2004). School-based interventions for
students with behavior problems. New York: Plenum.
Carter, A., Davis, N., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (2005). Social development
in autism. In F. Volkmar, A. Klin, R. Paul, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook
of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (3rd ed., pp. 312– 334).
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Collier-Meek, M., Fallon, L., Johnson, A., Sanetti, L., & Delcampo, M.
(2012). Constructing self-modeling videos: Procedures and technology.
Psychology in the Schools, 49, 3–14.
Constantino, J. (2002). Social Responsiveness Scale. Los Angeles, CA:
Western Psychological Services.
Dingfelder, H., & Mandell, D. (2011). Bridging the research-to-practice
gap in autism intervention: An application of diffusion of innovation
theory. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 597–609.
Elliot, S., & Treuting, M. (1991). The Behavior Intervention Rating Scale:
Development and validation of a pretreatment acceptability and
effectiveness measure. Journal of School Psychology, 29, 43–51.
Gersten, R., Fuchs, L., Compton, D., Coyne, M., Greenwood, C., &
Innocenti, M. (2005). Quality indicators for group experimental and
quasiexperimental research in special education. Exceptional Children,
Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 13:51 07 March 2015
71, 149– 164.
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Sepeta, L., Wang, Y., Marshall, S., Gomez, L.,
Sigman, M., & Hutman, T. (2012). Early childhood predictors of the
social competence of adults with autism. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 42, 161 –174.
Gilliam, J. (2001). Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Grinker, R. R., Yeargin-Allsopp, N., & Boyle, C. (2011). Culture and
autism spectrum disorders: The impact on prevalence and recognition.
In D. G. Amaral, G. Dawson, & D. H. Geschwind (Eds.), Autism
spectrum disorders (pp. 112 –136). New York: Oxford Press.
Gutierrez, A., Hale, M., Gossens-Archuleta, K., & Sobrino-Sanchez, V.
(2007). Evaluating the social behavior of preschool children with autism
in an inclusive playground setting. International Journal of Special
Education, 22, 26–30.
Gutstein, S. E., & Whitney, T. (2002). Asperger syndrome and the
development of social competence. Focus on Autism and other
Developmental Disabilities, 17(3), 161 –171.
Horner, R., Carr, E., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. (2005).
The use of single-subject research to identify evidence-based practices in
special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 165–179.
Howlin, P., Mawhood, L., & Rutter, M. (2000). Autism and developmental
receptive language disorder: A follow-up comparison in early adult lift.
II: Social, behavioural, and psychiatric outcomes. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 561 –578.
Jenson, W., Bowen, J., Clark, E., Block, H., Gabriensen, T., Hood, J., . . .
Springer, B. (2011). Superheroes Social Skills. Eugene, OR: Pacific
Northwest.
Lee, S., Simpson, R., & Shogren, K. (2007). Effects and implications of
self-management for students with autism: A meta-analysis. Focus on
Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 22, 2– 13.
EFFECTS OF MULTIMEDIA SOCIAL SKILLS 9
Lerman, D., Vorndran, C., Addison, L., & Kuhn, S. (2004). Preparing
teachers in evidence-based practices for young children with autism.
School Psychology Review, 33, 510–526.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P., & Risi, S. (1999). Autism diagnostic
observation schedule. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological
Services.
Lord, C., Wagner, A., Rogers, S., Szatmari, P., Aman, M., Charman, T.,
. . . , Yoder, P. (2005). Challenges in evaluating psychosocial interven-
tions for autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Develop-
mental Disorders, 35, 695 –708.
Maurice, C., Mannion, K., Setso, S., & Perry, L. (2001). Parent voices:
Difficulty in accessing behavioral intervention for autism; working
toward solutions. Behavioral Interventions, 16, 147–165.
McMahon, C., Lerner, M., & Britton, N. (2013). Group-based social skills
interventions for adolescents with higher-functioning autism spectrum
disorder: A review and looking to the future. Adolescent Health,
Medicine, and Therapeutics, 4, 23–38.
McMahon, C., Vismara, L., & Solomon, M. (2012). Measuring changes in
social behavior during a social skills intervention for higher-functioning
children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders, Epub ahead of print. Retrieved
May 31, 2013, from http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%
2Fs10803-012-1733-3.pdf
Parker, R., & Vannest, K. (2009). An improved effect size for single case
research: Non-overlap of all pairs (NAP). Behavior Therapy, 40, 357–367.
Radley, K. (2010). Practical product: The yes and no program. Retrieved
from http://ed-psych.utah.edu/school-psych/_documents/grants/
intervention-manuals/yesand-no-program.pdf
Radley, K., Jenson, W., Clark, E., & O’Neill, R. (2014). The feasibility and
effects of a parent-facilitated social skills training program on social
engagement of children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychology in
the Schools, 51(3), 241–255.
Shernoff, E., Kratochwill, T., & Stoiber, K. (2003). Evidence-based
intervention: What are school psychology programs teaching? Journal of
School Psychology, 41, 467– 483.
Stokes, T., & Osnes, P. (1989). An operant pursuit of generalization.
Behavior Therapy, 20, 337–355.
Von Brock, M., & Elliot, S. (1987). Influence of treatment effectiveness
information on the acceptability of classroom interventions. Journal of
School Psychology, 25, 131– 144.
Wang, S., & Spillane, A. (2009). Evidence-based social skills interventions
for children with autism: A meta-analysis. Education and Training in
Developmental Disabilities, 44, 318 –342.
Wechsler, D. (2003). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (4th ed.).
San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Winner, M. (2005). Think social! A social thinking curriculum for school
age students. San Jose: CA: Think Social.
Zhang, J., & Wheeler, J. (2011). A meta-analysis of peer-mediated inter-
ventions for young children with autism spectrum disorders. Education
and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 46, 62 – 77.