Table 2.
Inclusion criteria | Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ICD-10: F84.0, F84.5, F84.1) |
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|
Age 8-20 years at start of group therapy |
|
Informed consent |
|
No, or stable psychopharmacotherapy |
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Children and parents are fluent in reading German to be able to understand instructions and fill in questionnaires |
Exclusion criteria |
IQ < 70 (full scale IQ according to HAWIK-IV/WIE) |
|
Psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive episode with suicidal ideation, any personality disorder |
|
Aggressive behaviour interfering with group therapy |
|
Any neurological disorder (exception: well treated epilepsy) |
|
Other medical condition interfering with therapy |
|
Group-based SST during last 6 months prior to the study |
Participation in other clinical trials including observation period of competing trials |
HAWIK-IV/WIE, Wechsler Scales for children, adolescents and adults with current German norms, measuring IQ; IQ, intelligence quotient.