Project Description:
Funding from Autism Speaks will allow the accomplishment of several goals: 1) establish long term community partner relationships that collaborate through donations or service time working with girls in the group; 2) establish networks within local school districts for volunteer peers, 3) increase capacity of social skills intervention within the school community by providing training and mentorship to two school professionals, and 4) establish a GNO peer advisory board. Each of these goals promotes the sustainability of the GNO program or other social skills programs in our community. Focus groups will generate ideas for age appropriate activities, important skills, and outcome measures. Development of a GNO Peer Advisory Board will contribute to sustainability of program and involvement of girls with and without autism in all aspects of GNO.
The purpose of this Girls Night Out (GNO) study is to evaluate an intervention aimed at improving social communication, specifically conversational skills, and self-care skills in an understudied population: adolescent girls with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The program targets areas often impaired in individuals with ASD: social skills related to conversations and self-care, related to appearance and hygiene
Keyword(s):
social skills, research, adolescents
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Technical Assistance and/or Training, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Recreation-Related Activities, Quality of Life
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Professionals and Para-Professionals, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Specific Groups
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Mulit-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
