Protocol: New approaches to managing the social deficits of Turner Syndrome using the PEERS program

Turner Syndrome (TS) is a sex chromosome aneuploidy (45,X) associated with social skill difficulties. Recent clinical care guidelines recommend that the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) social skills intervention programme be trialled in this population. PEERS has been successfully used in adolescents with autism spectrum conditions without intellectual disabilities. The PEERS program will be piloted with adolescents and young women with TS aged 16-20 using an uncontrolled study trial with a multiple-case series design. The program will be delivered face to face and online. The assessment battery is designed to measure social skills comprehensively from diverse informants (parent, teacher young person). It includes measures of social performance, social knowledge and social cognition. Parents and young people taking part in the intervention will also feedback on the acceptability and feasibility of the pilot. The outcomes of this small scale pilot (n=6-10) will be used to adapt the programme based on feedback and estimate the sample for a future randomised controlled trial.