Empirically Based Social Skill Intervention: A Case for Quality-of-Life Improvement

This article offers a personalized review of research conducted over a 27-year period to enhance the peer-related social skills of young children with behavioral disorders or autism. The argument is made that a logical positivist approach has yielded significant quality-of-life benefits to research participants. Furthermore, it is suggested that the positivist approach has effectively challenged many outdated notions regarding assessment and intervention in the social skill domain. Finally, evidence is presented to suggest how the positivist approach has forced fundamental changes within our own line of inquiry and intervention.