[01] Parviz Sharifi Daramadi, Department of Psychology, School of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran. [02] Afsaneh Azizian, Department of Psychology, School of Humanities, Azad University of Iran, Shahrood, Iran.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience difficulties in identifying, describing, and adjusting their own and others' emotions. The literature on identifying effective strategies to overcome these problems is considerable. The aim of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of group social skills intervention on alexithymia in boys with autism spectrum disorders aged between 10 and 12. The sample, consisting of 14 children, is selected using convenience sampling, which are then divided into control and experimental groups of 7, based on their IQ and perceptive language ability and gender using the alexithymia questioner. Comparing the results using analysis of variance with repeated measures shows that boys who are treated with social skills training, progress significantly in terms of overcoming their alexithymia. Based on the results of the present study, it is suggested to use social skills training to deal with alexithymia of children with autism spectrum disorders for educational planning and rehabilitation.

Social Skills Intervention, Alexithymia, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Social Skills Training

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