Intervention procedures for children and adolescents with Asperger Syndrome: A literature review

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is characterized, according to DSM-IV, by a severe and persistent impairment in social interaction and by the development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on the effectiveness of the intervention of social skills training in children or adolescents with AS. We used as databases: MEDLINE, Psyinfo, Psyarticles, Academic Search Premier and Web of Science. Eight articles were selected and the results indicated that the proposed interventions produced positive eff ects on the skills of children with SA compared with the control group, being effective in promoting social development. Thus, possible future studies are suggested with more accurate measures and larger samples for a better understanding of intervention programs in children and adolescents with AS.