اثر بخشي مداخله گروهي مبتني بر برنامه پيرز بر مشكلات رفتاري و اضطراب اجتماعي در نوجوانان با اختلال اوتيسم با عملكرد بالا

Effectiveness of Group Intervention Based on PEERS’ Program on Behavioral Problems and Social Anxiety in Adolescents with High-Function Autism Disorder

هدف از پژوهش حاضر تعيين اثر بخشي مداخله گروهي مبتني بر برنامه پيرز بر كاهش مشكلات رفتاري و اضطراب اجتماعي در نوجوانان با اختلال اوتيسم با عملكرد بالا بود. اين پژوهش با استفاده از روش تك آزمودني و طرحA-B-A انجام شد. جامعه آماري پژوهش شامل دانش آموزان مبتلا به اختلال طيف اوتيسم شهر يزد در سال تحصيلي 97-1396 بودند. با استفاده از نمونه گيري هدفمند 4 دانش آموز پسر مبتلا به اختلال اوتيسم با عملكرد بالا انتخاب شدند. جلسات آموزشي بر اساس دستورالعمل مداخله گروهي برنامه پيرز در قالب 14 جلسه و هر جلسه به مدت 60 دقيقه برگزار شد. بر اساس نتايج تحليل ديداري داده ها، برنامه در زمينه بهبود مشكلات رفتاري و اضطراب اجتماعي براي هر چهار شركت كننده موثر بوده است. به منظور پيگيري نتايج مداخله، يك ماه بعد از مداخله مقياس سيستم ارزيابي رفتار كودكان (BASC-3) و پرسشنامه اضطراب اجتماعي(SAS-A) مجددا توسط مادران و نوجوانان تكميل شد. بر اساس يافته هاي اين پژوهش به نظر مي رسد ماهيت گروهي برنامه مداخله، مشاركت مادران و ايجاد فرصت براي تعامل نوجوانان با يكديگر، منجر به بهبود اضطراب اجتماعي شده است. همچنين برنامه پيرز توانسته است اثر مستقيم و مثبت بر مشكلات رفتاري داشته باشد. به طور كلي يافته هاي پژوهش حاضر از تاثير مثبت برنامه آموزشي پيرز بر كاهش مشكلات رفتاري و اضطراب اجتماعي پسران نوجوان با اختلال اوتيسم با عملكرد بالا حمايت مي كند.

Introduction Boys with autism spectrum disorder experience mental and physical changes of adolescence period. These teens may have behavioral problems (anxiety, depression and aggression) due to failure in adapting with changes in this period and relationships with peers. These teens have difficulty in understanding social norms, and social anxiety can be seen in them. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of group intervention based on PEERS’ program on reducing behavioral problems and social anxiety in adolescents with high-function autism disorder. Method This study was performed using single-subject method and A-B-A design. The statistical population of the study included students with autism spectrum disorder in Yazd city in the academic year of 2017-2018. Four students with high-function autism were selected through purposeful sampling method. The training sessions were organized according to the PEERS’ intervention program in 14 sessions, each 60 minutes. Based on the results of the visual analysis of the data, the program has been effective in improving behavioral problems and social anxiety. In order to follow-up the intervention, one month after the intervention, the children’s behavior assessment system (BASC-3) and the social anxiety questionnaire (SAS-A) were completed by mothers and adolescents. Results Based on the findings of this study, it seems that the nature of the intervention program with the participation of mothers, together with the creation of opportunities for the interaction of adolescents, lead to the improvement of social anxiety. Also, the PEERS’ program can have a direct and positive effect on behavioral problems. In the present study, the data were plotted separately for each subject and the differences between the data were taken into account. These differences were notable as well as the differences between baseline data and experimental location. Conclusion The present study provides evidence for the effectiveness of PEERS’ program on behavioral problems and social anxiety in adolescents with High-Function Autism disorder. It seems that the group nature of the program, use of role playing and maternal participation have important role in decreasing behavioral problems and social anxiety in adolescents with high-function autism disorder.