The Association Between Parent Engagement and Child Outcomes in Social Skills Training Programs: Discovering the Secret Agent Society in Partnership

Costley, Debra; Baldwin, Susanna; Clark, Trevor; Howlin, Patricia; Taffe, John R.; Beaumont, Renae; Gray, Kylie M.; Enfeld, Stewart L.; Smith Merry, Jennifer; Roberts, Jacqueline; Sofronoff, Kate

Abstract

Previous research in clinical, community, and school settings has demonstrated positive outcomes for the Secret Agent Society (SAS) social skills training program. This is designed to help children on the autism spectrum become more aware of emotions in themselves and others and to ‘problem-solve’ complex social scenarios. Parents play a key role in the implementation of the SAS program, attending information and support sessions with other parents and providing supervision, rewards, and feedback as their children complete weekly ‘home mission’ assignments. Drawing on data from a school-based evaluation of the SAS program, this study examined whether parents’ engagement with these elements of the intervention was linked to the quality of their children’s participation and performance. Sixty-eight 8-14 year olds (mean age 10.7) with a diagnosis of autism participated in the program. The findings indicated that ratings of parental engagement were positively correlated with children’s competence in completing home missions and with the quality of their contribution during group teaching sessions. However, there was a less consistent relationship between parental engagement and measures of children’s social and emotional skill gains over the course of the program.

Citation

Costley, D., Baldwin, S., Clark, T., Howlin, P., Taffe, J. R., Beaumont, R., …Sofronoff, K. (2020). The Association Between Parent Engagement and Child Outcomes in Social Skills Training Programs: Discovering the Secret Agent Society in Partnership. Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, 44(1), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.1017/jsi.2020.2

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 19, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-07
• Deposit Date: Jan 6, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 1, 2020
• Journal: Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education
• Print ISSN: 2515-0731
• Electronic ISSN: 2515-074X
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 46-59
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jsi.2020.2
• Keywords: Social skills; Parental engagement; School programs
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3677042
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australasian-journal-of-special-and-inclusive-education/article/association-between-parent-engagement-and-child-outcomes-in-social-skills-training-programs-discovering-the-secret-agent-society-in-partnership/6D99043
• Additional Information: This article has been published in a revised form in Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, https://doi.org/10.1017/jsi.2020.2 . This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use. © The Authors.