Descriptive and meta-analysis of research on teaching social skills to individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Individuals diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are those who have IQ within the normal or upper range of intellectual functioning, have no impairments in language and communication skills, have impairments in social skills, and exhibit restricted and repetitive behavioral and interest patterns. The purpose of this thesis was to carry out a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of the single-subject studies focusing on teaching social skills to the individuals with high-functioning ASD, as well as determining the evidence of practices in the studies reviewed. Thus, a thorough literature search was performed using the relevant search terms to identify the single-subject studies teaching social skills to the individuals with high-functioning ASD. A comprehensive descriptive analysis was conducted for the eligible studies that were evaluated by quality indicators in single case intervention research design standards. Finally, each study was evaluated by using quality indicators and a meta-analysis was conducted for the studies that met the quality indicators. The eligible studies were evaluated by quality indicators in "Single-Case Intervention Research Design Standards" and descriptively analyzed. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted for two studies that were classified strong evidence or moderate evidence based on "Single-Case Intervention Research Design Standards" or that met model standards with or without reservations. Improvement Rate Difference from non-parametric effect size measures was calculated in the thesis. The results indicated that practices in both studies were very effective. However, the practices were not deemed evidence-based as they did not meet 5-3-20 replication rule.