TABLE 1.
Areas of interest for assessing the feasibility of KONTAKT™ for Australian Autistic children (Bowen et al., 2010)
| Area of focus | Methodology |
|---|---|
| Acceptability |
|
| Demand |
|
| Implementation |
|
| Practicality |
|
| Adaptation |
|
| Integration |
|
| Expansion |
|
| Efficacy testing |
|
TABLE 2.
An example of a KONTAKT™ session
| Agenda | Description |
|---|---|
| Opening round | Encourage participants to connect by asking them to share a recap of their week and express how they felt at the start of the session. Each participant then passes the turn to the group member sitting beside them. |
| Homework revision | Trainers review each group member’s homework assignments (missions) from the previous session, encouraging them to share their experiences with the group. |
| Group discussions | Rather than adopting a didactic approach to teaching, trainers encourage participants (1) discuss different social skill topics; (2) share their previous experiences with that skill; (3) brainstorm various options for performing the skill, considering the short and long-term consequences; (4) considering what actions might apply to group members everyday lives. Depending on the available time and abilities of group members, an advanced option is also provided. For example, for the topic of “What is ASD?” the advanced topic is “Disclosing my ASD diagnosis to others.” |
| Snack Time | Allow group members to use and practise their learnt skills (e.g., turn-taking, initiating conversation, small talk) in an unstructured situation. During this time, when necessary, the trainers can provide prompts to facilitate socialising. |
| Group activities | Encourage and reinforce group cohesion, cooperation, participation, social interaction and communication skills (verbal and non-verbal) through various games and activities such as role-play, charades, and group activities (e.g. baking together). |
| Assigning new homework | Assign new homework assignments (missions) based on the next session’s social skills topic, preparing the participants and encouraging them to generalise the skills already covered to their everyday worlds. For example, “Setting goals” or “Analysing difficult situations”. |
| Closing round | Recap the session, with each member sharing their experiences and suggestions for improving the group. Members then share their feelings and plans for the coming week. |
TABLE 3.
Children’s sociodemographic and clinical characteristics
| M | SD | Range | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 10.87 | 1.04 | [9, 12] | |
| WASI-II | VCI | 108.73 | 17.37 | [85, 149] |
| PRI | 102.8 | 14.66 | [77, 130] | |
| FSIQ | 106.67 | 13.23 | [79, 132] | |
| CBCL | Internalising | 18.07 | 8.65 | [4, 37] |
| n | % | |||
| Gender | Female | 5 | 33 | |
| Male | 10 | 67 | ||
| Diagnosis | Autism1 | 2 | 13 | |
| ASC2 | 13 | 87 | ||
| Co-occurring | ADHD | 5 | 33 |
TABLE 4.
Parent sociodemographic characteristics
| M | SD | Range | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 41.0 | 7.2 | [29, 55] | |
| n | % | |||
| Gender | Female | 14 | 93 | |
| Male | 1 | 7 | ||
| Marital Status | Divorced | 2 | 13 | |
| Married (married de facto) | 11 | 73 | ||
| Separated | 2 | 13 | ||
| Income* | <$1000 | 6 | 40 | |
| $1,000–$1,999 | 2 | 13 | ||
| $2,000–$2,999 | 5 | 33 | ||
| >$3,000 | 2 | 13 | ||
| Ethnicity | North and Western European | 5 | 33 | |
| Oceanian | 4 | 27 | ||
| South and Eastern European | 2 | 13 | ||
| South-East Asian | 1 | 7 | ||
| Sub-Saharan African | 3 | 20 | ||
| Education | Bachelor’s degree | 8 | 53 | |
| High school | 4 | 27 | ||
| Master’s degree or higher | 1 | 7 | ||
| TAFE/Alternative Diploma/Certification | 2 | 13 |
TABLE 5.
Selected items from Social Interaction Anxiety Scale for autistic children
| Item | Factor | Loading |
|---|---|---|
| I worry that I won’t know what to say in social situations. | 1 | 0.82 |
| I am tense mixing in a group. | 1 | 0.82 |
| I find it difficult to disagree with another’s point of view. | 2 | 0.57 |
| I feel uncomfortable working with a group (e.g., group assignment or game). | 3 | 0.56 |
| I become tense if I have to talk about myself or my feelings. | 4 | 0.49 |
| I feel tense if I am alone with just one other person. | 5 | 0.43 |
[i] Note: The items were chosen based on a factor analysis conducted based on data at baseline from the randomised controlled trial of KONTAKT™ for adolescents (Afsharnejad et al., 2021a).
TABLE 6.
Changes in Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures from Baseline to Post Completion of KONTAKT™
| Outcome | Time | N | Median | p-value | Effect Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAS | Child | T1 | 8 | −6.00 | .012* | 0.89 |
| T2 | 8 | −2.00 | ||||
| Parent | T1 | 8 | −6.00 | .018* | 0.84 | |
| T2 | 8 | −1.00 | ||||
| SSGAQa | T1 | 10 | 59.00 | .005* | 0.89 | |
| T2 | 10 | 74.00 | ||||
| LERIDa | T1 | 8 | 172.00 | .043* | 0.69 | |
| T2 | 8 | 202.50 | ||||
| SRSb | Awr | T1 | 10 | 13.00 | .112 | |
| T2 | 10 | 11.00 | ||||
| Cog | T1 | 10 | 16.00 | .677 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 15.00 | ||||
| Com | T1 | 10 | 32.50 | .633 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 31.00 | ||||
| Mot | T1 | 10 | 13.00 | .594 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 11.00 | ||||
| RRB | T1 | 10 | 18.00 | .109 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 15.50 | ||||
| SCI | T1 | 10 | 77.50 | .475 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 68.50 | ||||
| Total | T1 | 10 | 94.00 | .333 | ||
| T2 | 10 | 83.50 | ||||
| **Motivationa | Child | T1 | 10 | 5.27 | .407 | |
| T2 | 9 | 5.25 | ||||
| Parent | T1 | 10 | 5.25 | .953 | ||
| T2 | 9 | 5.11 | ||||
| **Enjoymenta | Child | T1 | 10 | 5.27 | .401 | |
| T2 | 9 | 5.00 | ||||
| Parent | T1 | 10 | 5.00 | .263 | ||
| T2 | 9 | 4.78 | ||||
| **SIASb | T1 | 10 | 15.10 | .575 | ||
| T2 | 8 | 16.33 |
Note: Awr = awareness; Co = Cooperativeness; Cog = cognition; Com = communication; Diff = difference; GAS = Goal Attainment Scaling; Mot = motivation; RRB = Restricted Repetitive Behaviour; SCI = Social Communication and Interaction; SSGAQ = Social Skills Group Assessment Questionnaire; SRS = Social Responsiveness Scale; SIAS = Social Interaction Anxiety Scale.