Effects of Social Skills Training for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Polish Adaptation of the PEERS® Intervention via Hybrid and In-Person Delivery.

The final analysed sample was small: 29 adolescents, 12 in treatment and 17 in waitlist control, after 38 of 74 eligible adolescents were excluded and several withdrew or were excluded for low attendance. Outcome assessors were not blinded, and the main results came from teen and parent report, so expectations could have influenced ratings. Follow-up was based on 16 adolescents after response rates of 58.3% and 60.0%, so maintenance findings are vulnerable to attrition bias and were not compared separately between the original treatment and waitlist groups. The comparison of hybrid and in-person delivery was not planned, and the two modes happened in different periods with different COVID-19 restrictions, so it cannot prove equivalence. About one-third in each group reported concurrent treatment, mostly psychotherapy, and the PEERS package included teen sessions, parent coaching, homework, and role-play videos, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Participants had IQ above 70, no major co-existing psychiatric disorder, no oppositional or aggressive behaviour outside the family, motivation to attend, and an available caregiver, so findings may not apply to adolescents with more severe co-occurring conditions or less caregiver support. All participants were Caucasian/White and the program was a Polish adaptation, so generalisability to other cultures and delivery systems is limited.

Funding was provided by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled People (PFRON) and the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw.

Do not conclude that hybrid delivery is proven equivalent to in-person delivery for all autistic adolescents. The hybrid comparison was not a planned goal, the hybrid and in-person groups were treated at different times with different COVID-19 restrictions, and the analysis only showed no significant differences.