Stage fright to social success: theatre program shows promise for adults with autism

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

ASD Inclusion Criteria: * diagnosed with ASD based on DSM-V criteria (APA, 2013), by a psychologist, pediatrician or psychiatrist with expertise in ASD will be enrolled. ASD diagnosis will be corroborated by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) (Lord, 2012). * Only adults not currently supported by educational opportunities will be enrolled. * Participants must have a full-scale IQ \> or = 70 (WASI; (Wechsler, 2011)) ASD Exclusion Criteria: * Adults with intellectual impairment (WASI; (Wechsler, 2011) score \< 70. * Participants with current, frequent and uncontrolled aggression toward other persons or property in the past 6 months will be excluded based on phone screening and questions from the Adult Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 2001) (e.g., "Physically attacks people"). * Participants with evidence of suicidality based on care-provider report, self-report, or clinical interview (i.e., endorsement of suicidal ideation in the past month and/or suicidal behavior in the past three months on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (Posner, 2011), * Previous SENSE Theatre® participants will be excluded. Care-giver Inclusion Criteria: * must be at least 18 years of age * must be a parent, close relative, or spouse of the adult participant with ASD. * must be able to provide current and historical observations of the functioning of the participant with ASD. * must live in close proximity to and have frequent contact with the participant with ASD. Care-giver Exclusion Criteria: \- Anyone not meeting inclusion criteria. Confederates Inclusion Criteria: * must be at least 18 years of age * typically developing individual with no neurodevelopmental disorder. * must successfully complete training and demonstrate consistent administration of research protocols. Confederate Exclusion Criteria: \- Anyone not meeting inclusion criteria. Peers Inclusion Criteria: * must be at least 18 years of age * typically developing individual with no neurodevelopmental disorder. * must have an expressed interest in supporting young adults and adults with developmental disabilities or ASD * must successfully complete SENSE Theatre® training. Peers Exclusion Criteria: \- Anyone not meeting inclusion criteria.