Browsing by Author "Neprily, Kirsten"

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    Summer Camp for Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Naturalistic Context for Enhancing Social Competence
    (2020-08) Neprily, Kirsten; Climie, Emma A.; Makarenko, Erica; Spring, Erin
    Many adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience difficulties in social competence (Ros & Graziano, 2018). Social difficulties in adolescents with ADHD have been tied to poor long-term outcomes and are predictive of global impairment (Morris et al., 2020). Summer camp programs have been overlooked as an opportunity for social growth and development. Evidence suggests that specialized summer camp with social skills training may have positive outcomes on social competence development in adolescents with ADHD (Pelham et al., 2010; Sibley et al., 2011, 2012). The current study investigated changes in social competence of adolescents with ADHD within a specialized social skills summer camp for children and adolescents with ADHD. The present study included a sample of 60 adolescents with ADHD between the ages of 12 and 16 years old and 15 camp counsellors. The Social-Emotional Assets and Resiliency Scales- Adolescent (SEARS-A) and Parent (SEARS-P) report were used to measure social competence. Overall, the present study demonstrated that adolescents with ADHD have significantly lower social competence when compared to a normative sample of adolescents. The study also confirmed that adolescents with ADHD improve their social competence after attending a specialized summer camp as demonstrated by higher social competence scores at the end of camp. Finally, the current study found similar scores between counsellor ratings of adolescent’s social competence and adolescent ratings of social competence. In conclusion, specialized summer camp programs may be an innovative, cost effective, and generalizable method to support social competence growth in adolescents with ADHD.
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    “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”- Social Skills and Friendship Building in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
    (2024-12-05) Neprily, Kirsten; Climie, Emma; McCrimmon, Adam; Makarenko, Erica
    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder causing impairment in multiple areas of functioning, including behavioural, emotional, and social abilities. Social skill challenges and poor interpersonal relationships are often found in adolescents with ADHD. Specifically, adolescents with ADHD may struggle with social skills resulting in less friendships, lower friendship quality, and engaging in more inappropriate social behaviours compared to their neurotypical peers. Researchers have promoted the need for long term interventions that not only address social skill development but directly address dyadic friendship making for adolescents with ADHD. One such intervention, the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) has the potential to address these challenges. The current study expanded on previous research by examining the effectiveness of PEERS on social skill development and friendship making in adolescents with ADHD in a Canadian context. After inclusionary criteria were applied and data quality were examined, the final sample included 46 participants (23 adolescents and 23 caregivers/parents), with adolescents ranging in age from 13.0-18.1 years of age. The research design involves repeated time points and analyses were conducted using linear mixed models. Participation in PEERS was associated with significant gains in social skills knowledge, formation of a new friendship, increased get togethers, and improved quality of existing friendships at post intervention; these were maintained at follow-up. The results suggest that PEERS may be an effective tool to build adolescents with ADHD’s social skills and improve friendship making, reducing the potential negative outcomes in this population.