The Arts in Psychotherapy 40 (2013) 37–44 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect The Arts in Psychotherapy Social Competence Intervention Program (SCIP): A pilot study of a creative drama program for youth with social difficulties Laura A. Guli, PhD a,∗ , Margaret Semrud-Clikeman, PhD b , Matthew D. Lerner, MA c , Noah Britton, MA d a University of Texas at Austin, SZB 504, 1 University Station, D5800, Austin, TX 78712, United States b University of Minnesota Medical School, 420 Delaware St. SE, MMC 486, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States c University of Virginia, Department of Psychology, 102 Gilmer Hall, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400, United States d Bunker Hill Community College, 250 New Rutherford Avenue, Boston, MA 02129, United States a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Social skills Autism Asperger’s Group Treatment Drama a b s t r a c t This study explored the effects of participation in the Social Competence Intervention Program (SCIP), an innovative creative drama-based group intervention, of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disor- der (ASD), nonverbal learning disability (NLD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Eighteen participants in SCIP were compared to a clinical control group of 16 on changes in meas- ures of social perception, social competence, and naturalistic observed social behavior. Hierarchical multiple regression model was used for all primary quantitative analyses. Interviews were conducted post-treatment to provide qualitative data. The treatment group showed significant improvement in key domains of observed social behavior in a natural setting compared to the clinical control group. Parents and children in the SCIP condition reported multiple positive changes in social functioning. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of a creative drama program for children with social competence deficits related to social perception problems. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction Deficits in social competence, or the ability to function effec- tively in interpersonal situations and perform competently on social tasks, are a defining characteristic of youth with autism spec- trum disorder (ASD; Koenig, De Los Reyes, Cicchetti, Scahill, & Klin, 2009). Social competence difficulties have been documented not only in youth with ASD, but those with a nonverbal learning dis- ability (NLD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well (Little & Clark, 2006; Woodbury-Smith & Volkmar, 2009). A key element necessary for social competence is social perception, defined as the ability to identify, recognize, and interpret the mean- ing and significance of the behavior of others (Lipton & Nowicki, 2009). The process of social perception can be broken down into the input of sensory cues, integration of these cues and output of an appropriate behavioral response (Johnson & Myklebust, 1967). Children and adolescents with ASD and NLD have difficulty with each of these steps (Rourke, 1995; Semrud-Clikeman, Walkowiak, Wilkinson, & Minne, 2010; Woodbury-Smith & Volkmar, 2009). ∗ Corresponding author at: 3625 Manchaca Rd., Suite 202, Austin, TX 78704, United States. Tel.: +1 512 522 4093; fax: +1 512 685 1514. E-mail addresses: laura@drlauraguli.com, mdl6e@virginia.edu (L.A. Guli), semrudcl@msu.edu (M. Semrud-Clikeman), mlerner@virginia.edu (M.D. Lerner), noahbritton@gmail.com (N. Britton). Specific deficits have been found in these populations’ ability to accurately decode facial cues, voice tone, and/or prosody (Deruelle, Rondan, Gepner, & Tardif, 2004). Research has also begun to identify attention issues in children with ASD and NLD (Fine, Semrud- Clikeman, Butcher, & Walkowiak, 2008) as well as social perceptual difficulties in children with ADHD (Corbett & Constantine, 2006). Emerging evidence is present in the literature that ADHD and ASD may share not only common behaviors but also a common deficit in the frontostriatal pathways as a basis of their disorders. Thus, it has been strongly suggested that studies include children with ADHD as well as those with ASD within the same groups for intervention (Corbett, Constantine, Hendren, Rocke, & Ozonoff, 2009). Empirical studies indicate that while inattention relates to social functioning difficulties (Fine et al., 2008), a more fundamental variable under- lying these social skills difficulties is deficits in social perception (Semrud-Clikeman et al., 2010). Social skills interventions Though many social skills interventions exist, many programs have demonstrated inconsistent efficacy in addressing the social competence needs of children with ASD, NLD, and/or ADHD (Matson, Matson, & Rivit, 2007). These populations may bene- fit from social skills programs that are experiential rather than didactic, and developed for their specific needs (Davis & Broitman, 2011; Koenig et al., 2009; Lerner & Levine, 2007). It has been 0197-4556/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2012.09.002