An investigation into social information processing in young people with Asperger syndrome

Abstract

Deficits in social functioning are a core feature of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), being linked to various cognitive and developmental factors, but there has been little attempt to draw on normative models of social cognition to understand social behaviour in ASD. The current study explored the utility of Crick and Dodge's (1994) information processing model to studying social cognition in ASD, and examined associations between social information processing patterns, theory of mind skills and social functioning. A matched-group design compared young people with Asperger syndrome with typically developing peers, using a social information processing interview previously designed for this purpose. The Asperger syndrome group showed significantly different patterns of information processing at the intent attribution, response generation and response evaluation stages of the information processing model. Theory of mind skills were found to be significantly associated with parental ratings of peer problems in the Asperger syndrome group but not with parental ratings of pro-social behaviour, with only limited evidence of an association between social information processing and measures of theory of mind and social functioning. Overall, the study supports the use of normative social information processing approaches to understanding social functioning in ASD.

Virtual Environment for Social Information Processing: Assessment of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…However, as a group, children with ASD showed a weaker preference for the pro‐social solution and more often than their TD peers favored responses reflecting not understanding or avoidance. That a greater than expected proportion of children with ASD chose avoidant responses is consistent with prior reports of children with ASD rating withdrawal from a situation as a favorable solution [e.g., Flood et al, ]. Children with ASD also demonstrated a more difficult time deciphering the problem, as demonstrated by higher than chance levels of choosing “don't know” for problem identification; this finding too is consistent with prior literature [e.g., Stichter et al, ; Bernard‐Opitz et al, ].…”

“…VESIP scores exhibited strong evidence of reliability. Consistent with prior studies using a range of assessment techniques [Channon et al, 2001;Bauminger et al, 2005;Embregts & van Nieuwenhuijzen, 2009;Flood et al, 2011;Meyer et al, 2006;Ziv et al, 2014;Russo-Ponsaran et al, 2015], children with ASD generally performed at a lower level than their TD peers. Response preferences varied significantly by diagnostic group.…”

“…Assessment of SIP skills has important implications for understanding the social challenges of children with an autism-spectrum disorder [ASD; Channon, Charman, Heap, Crawford, & Rios, 2001;Bauminger et al, 2005;Embregts & van Nieuwenhuijzen, 2009;Flood, Hare, & Wallis, 2011;Meyer, Mundy, Van Hecke, & Durocher, 2006;Ziv, Hadad, Khateeb, & Terkel-Dawer, 2014;Russo-Ponsaran et al, 2015]. For example, children with ASD have difficulty accurately describing the nature of a social problem and also encoding emotional and negative cues [Stichter, O'Connor, Herzog, Lierheimer, & McGhee, 2012].…”

Social‐Emotional Correlates of Early Stage Social Information Processing Skills in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Another recent study evaluated SIP and theory of mind skills in preschool‐aged children with autism [Ziv et al, ]. Contrary to Flood et al [], Ziv et al [] identified a positive relationship between better performance on false belief and knowledge access theory of mind tests and SIP steps of encoding and response generation within the ASD group. Differences in age range and specific diagnosis confound the comparison of results.…”

Predictability of Psychopedagogical Variables Related to User Satisfaction Level When Including Students With Asperger Syndrome at University

“…This means that many universities are not ready yet for integration of students with AS, not only because of architectural access issues but also because of their current regulations and curricular and educational organization. Although great efforts are being made to continue with the required measures to support and advise students with AS, the consolidation of the principles of equality of opportunities and nondiscrimination in the university system is still far from meeting current regulations (Fleischer, 2012;Flood, Hare, & Wallis, 2011;Griffith, Totsika, Nash, & Hastings, 2012a;Griffith, Totsika, Nash, Jones, & Hastings, 2012b;Hughes, 2012;Ruiz, Pistrang, & Mandy, 2012;Sawyer, Williamson, & Young, 2012;Sciutto, Richwine, Mentrikoski, & Niedzwiecki, 2012;Shady, Luther, & Richman, 2013;Sharma, Woolfson, & Hunter, 2012;Swain, Nordness, & Leader-Janssen, 2012;Tolra´, 1998;Voss & Bufkin, 2011). To resolve these problems, it is necessary to move forward on the design, approval, and application of regulations, which assure an appropriate attention and support to students with AS, specifying quality standards and good practice indicators for an efficient functioning of support services to students in all different contexts and, by doing so, building continuity into academic and professional training (Alcantud, Á vila, & Asensi, 2000;Forteza & Ortego, 2003;Luque & Rodrı´guez, 2008) over the students' development.…”