Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have problems with social skills. Social skills training groups are among the proposed therapeutic strategies, but their efficacy still needs to be evaluated. To evaluate the efficacy of an implicit social skills training group in children with ASDs without intellectual disability. A before-and-after study of children with ASD without intellectual disability was conducted in a child psychiatry day hospital, where they participated in an implicit group with cooperative games. Their social skills were assessed using the Social-Emotional Profile (SEP), the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and the empathy quotient (EQ) before and after 22 weeks. Six patients aged 9 to 10 years old were evaluated. A significant increase in overall adaptation and social skills (median 8 and 7.7 points) in the SEP was demonstrated in addition to a significant reduction in the CARS score (median: 4 points), including in the field of social relationships. The EQ increased two-fold. This implicit group improved the children’s social skills. It would be interesting to evaluate the maintenance of these skills over time, examine more widespread results, and compare implicit and explicit groups.

Autism spectrum disorders are serious neurodevelopmental disorders that affect approximately 1% of the population. These disorders are substantially influenced by genetics. Several recent linkage analyses have examined copy number variations associated with autism risk. Microdeletion of the 2q13 region is considered a pathogenic copy number variation. This microdeletion is involved in developmental delays, congenital heart defects, dysmorphism, and various psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders. There are only 34 reported cases with this chromosomal deletion, and five cases of autism spectrum disorders have been identified among them. The autistic phenotype associated with this microdeletion has never been described. We describe the case of a 44-month-old Caucasian girl with the 2q13 microdeletion and autism spectrum disorders with global development delay but no associated organ anomalies. We examined the autistic phenotype using different workups and observed an atypical phenotype defined by relatively preserved relational competency and imitation abilities. The main contribution of this case report is the precise description of the autistic phenotype in the case of this deletion. We observed some atypical clinical features that could be markers of this genetic anomaly. We have discussed the pathophysiology of autism associated with this microdeletion and its incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity.