Development and effectiveness of virtual support program on challenging behaviors and social skills of Children with High-Functioning Autism Disorder

The aim of this study was to develop and determine the effectiveness of a virtual support program on challenging behaviors and social skills of children with high-functioning autism. The research method was combined. In the qualitative section, 14 experts were selected as participants by purposive sampling. Using the theoretical coding method, a virtual support program was developed for 11 purposes. In the quantitative part, the research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and control group. The statistical population included all boys aged 7 to 11 years with autism referred to Padideh and Rahyab medical and rehabilitation centers in Tehran in 2020. Among them, 20 people were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups (10 people) and a control group (10 people). The experimental group received a virtual support program for 13 sessions (2 sessions per week); the control group was placed on a waiting list for 2 months. In order to collect information, the Challenging Behaviors Questionnaire of Budfish et al. (2000) and Gersham & Elliott's (1990) Social Skills Questionnaire, were used. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance. Findings showed that the virtual support program had a significant effect on reducing challenging behaviors and improving the social skills of the experimental group (P <0.001). Therefore, it is suggested that psychologists and educators in the field of children with autism use the virtual support program to manage and reduce the psychological problems of these children and help their parents due to the prevailing conditions caused by the coronavirus.