Abstract
This project gives a broad overview of best practices of social skills training for adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome and/or high-functioning autism (AS/ HFA). Rising problems with bullying, depression, and anxiety have made social skills training not only helpful for adolescents with AS/HFA but also necessary to maintain healthy mental and emotional states. The challenge that many new and tenured educators face is the practicalities of implementing such a social skills curriculum. The goal of this project is to help educators bridge this gap. A review of current journal articles as well as published books formed the basis of what the authors believe to be the most important topics educators need to know regarding a social skills training: what, how, when, where, and why. Sub-topics such as hygiene, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and bullying are included for the purposes of making this project as practical as possible. In totality, the project is a four to five hour training workshop that includes a presenter’s manual, four handouts, PowerPoint slides, and corresponding presenter notes. Any educator with some background knowledge of ASD can present the workshop to any range of workshop attendees. It is the hope of the authors that both the presenter and the attendees will complete the workshop as educated consumers of social skills training topics and tools.