Sheng Xu

Social problem-solving (SPS) is a core component of social-emotional learning (SEL) that integrates cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes essential for adaptive social functioning. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience persistent difficulties in these domains, highlighting the need for effective interventions. This meta-analysis quantitatively synthesized evidence on the effectiveness of SPS interventions for children with ASD. Nineteen group-design studies involving 741 participants met inclusion criteria. Using random-effects models, the pooled results revealed a significant, moderate overall effect on SPS competence (Cohen’s d = 0.53, 95% CI [0.15, 1.01], p < 0.05). Subgroup analyses further indicated that teacher-led and school-based implementations produced stronger effects than researcher-led interventions in non-school contexts, underscoring the importance of ecological validity. SPS interventions also generated moderate-to-large improvements in related SEL domains, including social skills, emotion recognition, theory of mind, and executive function. These findings support SPS as a pivotal mechanism for promoting social-emotional development in children with ASD. Future research should employ more rigorous designs, report implementation fidelity, and examine the sustainability of teacher-led interventions within naturalistic school settings.

Children on the autism spectrum who exhibit a restricted range of interests may engage less in appropriate toy play and display stereotypy, which may negatively affect their social engagement and task performance. Our study replicated and extended prior research by implementing response‐stimulus pairing to increase appropriate toy play and decrease inappropriate toy play and stereotypy in three Chinese children (aged 4–5 years) on the autism spectrum. We used a multiple probe design across participants. Results indicated that the intervention effectively increased appropriate toy play while decreasing inappropriate toy play and stereotypy. These improvements were also observed during free play. Two weeks after the completion of the intervention, all participants maintained the target behavior. Future research should consider collecting generalization data from home settings and conducting more rigorous functional behavior assessments.

We implemented tact matrix training to teach tacts of spatial locations to four children (male, 4–7 years of age) on the autism spectrum in China. The experimental design involved a multiple‐probe design across participants with pre‐ and postinstruction probes on untaught tacts and listener responses. Learning outcomes included taught tacts of object–preposition combinations, generalization of untaught tacts, and derived listener responses to all combinations in the matrix. All four participants acquired taught tacts after matrix training. Untaught tacts and listener responses were demonstrated with direct teaching, indicating the occurrence of recombinative generalization. Two participants maintained these skills with high accuracy for 4 or 8 weeks. The remaining two participants demonstrated high accuracy in untaught tacts and listener responses immediately after instruction; however, accuracy in taught and untaught tacts declined during the 4‐ or 8‐week maintenance probes, whereas listener responses remained stable.

Echolalia can negatively impact multiple skill areas in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including skills related to academic and social performance. The purpose of this study was to employ a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effects of tact training on delayed echolalia in three children in China diagnosed with ASD. The results of this study indicated that tact training was effective in decreasing echolalia and increasing appropriate tacts for all three children. The effects were maintained 7 weeks following the completion of training.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a procedure involving systematic withdrawal of stimulus prompts and tangible reinforcers on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of eye contact and gaze following for two children with ASD in China. Two boys with ASD (5–6 years of age) participated. A concurrent multiple probe design across behaviors and participants was used. Results indicate that the procedure effectively established eye contact and gaze following for both children. Generalization to new instructors occurred in the free play setting, and the acquired behaviors were maintained for 1 month following training. Eye contact was maintained with social consequences for one child; the other child required tokens along with social consequences to maintain eye contact. Social consequences were sufficient to maintain gaze following for both children.