Social Skills Training and Children with Autism: Does teaching children with autism social skills improve their relationships with peers? Overview of Autism Children with autism have social skill deficits, which cause them not to socialize with their peers or learn from their peers (Carpenter, Soorya, & Halpern, 2009). In general, children with autism do not attend schools specialized for their needs. Instead, children with autism attend regular schools with typical peers (Laushey, Heflin, Shippen, Alberto & Fredrick, 2009). Typical peers are children of the same age who do not exhibit mental or physical delays; therefore, they are normal. Without a foundation in social skills, children with autism will continue to be left behind while their typical peers grow and learn more. While there is no known cure for autism, there are ways to help children with autism improve their social delays. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has recognized the importance of social skills training, the APA has defined autism as a disorder that greatly affects verbal and non-verbal communication and greatly impairs everything to do with social interaction (APA, 2001). Children with autism will not only learn from interactions with their typical peers, adult intervention is also needed (Disalvo & Oswald, 2002). The main obstacle children must overcome when diagnosed with autism is deficits in social skills (Carpenter et al., 2009). The use of direct instructionDirect instruction is a tool with empirical evidence proven to help children with autism learn social skills that can then be implemented in school and beyond. Direct instruction is defined as using a researcher or teacher... middle of a sheet of paper... activity." Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 17, pp. 198-207. Laushey, K.M., Heflin, L.J., Shippen, M., Alberto, P.A., & Fredrick, L. (2009). Concept mastery routines for teaching social skills to high-functioning elementary school children with autism Developmental Disorders, 39(10), 1435-1448. doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0757-9Sancho, K., Sidener, T. M., Reeve, S. A., & Sidener, D. W. (2010). videos for teaching play skills to children with autism. Education and Treatment of children, 33(10), 421-442Walker, AN, Barry, TD, & Bader, SH (2010) Therapist and parent ratings of changes in adaptive social skills following a summer treatment camp for children with autism spectrum disorders: A preliminary study. Child and Youth Care Forum, 39(10), 305-322. doi: 10.1007/s10566-010-9110-x