Measurement of social skills treatment outcome in autism: Moving beyond informant report and considering diversity

Social skills interventions (SSIs) are one of the most commonly utilized treatment approaches for autistic individuals across the lifespan, with the goal of mitigating negative impacts of the social communication differences associated with autism, including peer rejection, social isolation, and poor mental health. Thorough and accurate assessment of the efficacy of SSIs is critical in this population, given its widespread use in the autism community. The current paper serves as a scoping review of outcome measurement in SSI research in autistic populations. The strengths and limitations of measurement methodologies (e.g., questionnaires, observational measures) are considered, with commonly used outcome measures discussed in detail, including psychometric properties when available. The role of diversity factors, including race/ethnicity and gender, in relation to outcome measurement is reviewed. Overall, results of this review indicate a need for continued research in measurement to refine the field's ability to assess treatment response following SSIs. In particular, a greater understanding of how existing measures operate in autistic samples is needed. Further, given the historical heavy reliance on and limitations of questionnaire measures in SSI research, multi-method, multi-informant assessment approaches to outcome measurement are indicated for future SSI research.