Enhancing social outcomes in autistic youth: Assessing the impact of PEERS® booster sessions

Background: The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a social skills training program for autistic adolescents and those facing social challenges. Its efficacy has been established worldwide, including in Italy. Although booster interventions are a potentially valuable strategy to maintain improvements over time, there is currently no research on the efficacy of providing booster sessions of PEERS® following the traditional treatment. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of PEERS® Booster sessions in a sample who had previously participated in a traditional PEERS® Adolescent program. Methods and procedures: A longitudinal non-randomized study was conducted involving 21 autistic adolescents, divided into the treatment group undergoing PEERS® Booster sessions and the control group without it. Outcomes and results: The study evaluated the primary outcomes (social abilities) and secondary outcomes (co-occurrences, executive functions) at two-time points (pre- and post-treatment). No significant differences were found between groups on baseline measures and primary outcomes. However, there were significant group differences between pre- and post-treatment on primary outcomes (social awareness and social communication) and secondary outcomes (externalizing problems). Conclusions and implications: The efficacy of the PEERS® Booster Sessions shows promise and clinical implications were also discussed.