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Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 4:3949 DOI 10.1007/s40489-016-0096-7
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A Meta-Analysis of Safety Skill Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Kaylie V. Wiseman1 & Laura E. McArdell1 & Summer B. Bottini1 & Jennifer M. Gillis1
Received: 7 May 2016 /Accepted: 18 October 2016 /Published online: 3 November 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Safety skills are a crucial area of instruction for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present meta-analysis of single-case studies evaluated the effectiveness of safety skill interventions for individuals with ASD. Targeted skills included abduction prevention, seeking assistance when lost, fire safety, and household safety. Eleven articles, published from 1993 to 2014, investigating safety skill interventions for young individuals with ASD were included. Tau-U, a more recent measure of effect size, was utilized in addition to an evaluation of experimental control. Medium-to-large effect sizes were demonstrated across interventions, and no differences in effectiveness were found across intervention methods or settings. Overall, safety skill interventions demonstrated promising evidence for use with individuals with ASD. Future research is needed to address the limited number of published studies in this domain and expand the evidence-base for these essential skills.
Keywords Autism spectrum disorder . Meta-analysis .
Single-case research . Safety skills
Safety skills are required to maintain personal welfare throughout the lifespan and begin to be acquired at an early age. The development of these skills is important given that unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children (Heron 2016). Further, children with an autism spectrum
disorder (ASD) are at a greater risk of sustaining an injury compared to typical children (Lee et al. 2008). Children with ASD may be at increased risk for harm and injury given difficulty or delay in social communication skills as well as difficulties with attention, motor control, and cognitive delays (Lee et al. 2008; Thomson et al. 2011). In addition, safety skills have been noted to be a primary concern of parents and educators that work with children with ASD and associated disabilities (Collins et al. 1991; Ivey 2004). Perceived deficits in these skills may also result in parental over-protection, which can impact the development of independent...