Function and Disability Journal (Jan 2023)
The Effect of Occupation-based Self-determination Intervention on Communication and Interaction Skills of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The prevalence of autism has increased worldwide in recent decades. The diagnosis of autism requires deficits in communication and social interaction skills, such as holding a back-to-back conversation and using non-verbal communication behaviors. It seems that the social skills of students with autism may significantly affect their self-determination state because the problem of social interaction causes limitations in autonomous functioning. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of occupation-based self-determination intervention on the communication and interaction skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 40 adolescents with ASD. A total of 21 adolescents (intervention group) were randomly selected to participate in the occupation-based self-determination intervention, while the other 19 adolescents (control group) had only routine occupational therapy sessions. All these adolescents were assessed before, after, and 45 days after the 16-session intervention program using an assessment of communication and interaction skills. Data were analyzed using non-parametric chi-square test and parametric tests (repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and student’s t-test). Results: A significant change was observed in the assessment results of the communication and interaction skills between pre and post-test of the intervention group. After analyzing the results with multivariate test, repeated measures, and student’s t-test, it was revealed that while the mean scores for communication and interaction skills in the control group did not show significant changes during assessment times (P>0.05), the comparison between groups over time for communication and interaction skills indicated a statistically significant increase in the intervention group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Using occupations to instruct self-determination skills to adolescents with ASD is an effective method to enhance their performance skills, including communication and interaction skills.
