Enhancing social skill development in individuals with autism through the implementation of the Sinxay Folk Art and Cultural Activity Package: A research and development

Abstract

 This research and development approaches to enhance social skills of individuals with autism involved three stages: 1) Situational analysis to find problems and needs, 2) Designing activity and validating the activity packages, and 3) Evaluating the activity package. The study was carried out between March 2021 and March 2022. Participants were recruited purposively, according to the inclusion criteria, which included five multidisciplinary personnel, six autistic parents, and ten autistic individuals. The tools used to evaluate the results included a social skill behavior observation form, social skill evaluation form, and autism treatment evaluation form. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

The results were as follows: 1) Problem situation found that adolescents with autism had been stress and pressure to socialize. Some had to receive treatment and drug therapy. 2) The design of the activity package selected Sinxay folk arts and culture in conjunction with the holistic concept, contemplative, and arts education. It was an activity format that involved learning from direct experiences in real context to practice observation, communication, and creativity. It consisted of 12 sessions, three hours for each session. 3) Results of evaluating the effectiveness of the activity package. Following the completion of the package, all participants displayed higher social skills, with the most substantial improvement in collaboration. Nine out of the 10 participants demonstrated higher social skill scores. In terms of the autism treatment evaluation checklist, only four participants showed improvement. Nevertheless, when focusing on the social skill aspect, seven out of 10 participants exhibited improved scores. In summary, this cultural heritage activity package, “Sinxay” effectively improved the social skills of the participants. Therefore, it could be recommended that this activity would be a viable option for the ongoing care of adolescents with autism.