Implicit play or explicit cognitive behaviour therapy: The impact of intervention approaches to facilitate social skills development in adolescents.

Introduction: Early adolescence is a time of increased social interaction with peers. Social competence is related to pretend play ability in younger children, but a lack of pretend play ability in childhood may also be associated with social challenges in early adolescence. Adolescents who find social situations challenging experience alienation from peers resulting in lowered self-regard.

An intervention to improve social participation for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: pilot study.

Objective: To increase flexible thinking, self-regulation and empathy for adolescents with ASD.

Method: Five adolescents (M = 13.5 years; SD = 0.