MAXout Outpatient Autism Treatment Improves Children’s Social-Cognitive Skills

High-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) who completed an 18-week intensive outpatient psychosocial treatment program for autism called MAXout had greater improvements, compared to a control group, in their social-cognitive skills (nonliteral language skills), according to a new study from researchers at the Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. The children, aged 7 to 12, who completed MAXout also had greater improvements on parent ratings of targeted social-communication skills, autism symptoms, broader social skills, and problem behaviors. The improvements were maintained at a follow-up test up to six weeks . . .