A randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of the Dutch version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®).

Background: This study examines the effectiveness of the culturally adapted Dutch version of The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), utilizing a randomized control trial (RCT) with an active treatment control condition.

Methods: 106 adolescents with ASD, aged 12-18 years, were randomly assigned to one of two group interventions: the experimental condition (PEERS®; n = 54) or the active treatment control condition (Regulation, Organization and Autonomy Didactics; ROAD; n = 52). Effects of interventions on social skills were primarily assessed using an observational measure (CASS - Contextual Assessment Social Skills).

The ACCEPT-study: design of an RCT with an active treatment control condition to study the effectiveness of the Dutch version of PEERS® for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Social skills interventions are commonly deployed for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because effective and appropriate social skills are determined by cultural factors that differ throughout the world, the effectiveness of these interventions relies on a good cultural fit. Therefore, the ACCEPT study examines the effectiveness of the Dutch Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) social skills intervention.

Isovaleric acidaemia presenting with dwarfism, cataract and congenital abnormalities.

Isovaleric acidaemia was diagnosed in a 9-year-old girl with an unusual clinical presentation. She was severely mentally retarded, had an extreme growth retardation, bilateral cataracts, multiple fractures of the long bones, vitium cordis and malformations of the head. Frequent infections occurred since early childhood.