Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS)

Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families

SCERTS^® is an educational model for working with children with ASD and their families. SCERTS^® is designed to build competence in social communication, emotional regulation, and transactional support and can be used for individuals with a wide range of abilities and ages across home, school, and community settings. It provides specific guidelines designed to help a child become a competent and confident social communicator, while preventing problem behaviors that interfere with learning and the development of relationships. It also is designed to help families, educators, and therapists work cooperatively as a team, in a carefully coordinated manner, to maximize progress in supporting a child.

Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP

• Website: https://scerts.com/
• Email: bprizant@gmail.com
• Phone: (401) 626-0681

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS) has materials available in the following languages other than English:

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is no formal support available for implementation of Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

"What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?"

• Morgan, L., Hooker, J. L., Sparapani, N., Reinhardt, V. P., Schatschneider, C., & Wetherby, A. M. (2018). Cluster randomized trial of the classroom SCERTS intervention for elementary students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(7), 631–644. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000314

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 60 Schools (197 students)

  Population:

  • Age — Children: Mean=6.77–6.82 years; Caregivers: Mean=30.14–31.19 years; Teachers: Mean=41.86–42.98 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Children: 63%–65% White, 20%–23% Hispanic, 12%–13% Black, 9%–10% Asian, 8%–9% Not Reported, and 4%–9% Multiracial; Caregivers: Not Specified; Teachers: 83%– 89% White, 5% Asian, 4%–5% Not Reported, 3% Multiracial, 2%–4% Black, and 1%– 6% Hispanic
  • Gender — Children: 79%–85% Male; Caregivers: Not specified; Teachers: 95%–96% Female
  • Status — Participants were enrolled in either a general education or special education classroom and had a diagnosis, either clinical or educational, of autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), or Asperger syndrome as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV).

  Location/Institution: California, Florida, and Georgia

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Classroom Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS) intervention (CSI) compared with usual school-based education with autism training modules (ATM). Participant schools with students in 129 classrooms were randomly assigned to CSI or ATM. Measures utilized include the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (fifth ed. [SB-51]), the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and measures of classroom active engagement (AE), vocabulary, adaptive behavior, social skills, and executive functioning. Results indicate that the CSI group showed significantly better outcomes than the ATM group on observed measures of classroom active engagement with respect to social interaction. The CSI group also had significantly better outcomes on measures of adaptive communication, social skills, and executive functioning. Limitations include that parents and teachers were aware of student treatment condition and therefore the potential for bias cannot be ruled out, lack of follow-up, and concerns about lack of generalizability due to child gender.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

There are currently no references available for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.