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

Abstract

Difficulty processing social information is a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet the failure of children with ASD to process social information effectively is poorly understood. Using Crick and Dodge's model of social information processing (SIP), this study examined the relationship between social-emotional (SE) skills of pragmatic language, theory of mind, and emotion recognition on the one hand, and early stage SIP skills of problem identification and goal generation on the other. The study included a sample of school-aged children with and without ASD. SIP was assessed using hypothetical social situations in the context of a semistructured scenario-based interview. Pragmatic language, theory of mind, and emotion recognition were measured using direct assessments. Social thinking differences between children with and without ASD are largely differences of quantity (overall lower performance in ASD), not discrepancies in cognitive processing patterns. These data support theoretical models of the relationship between SE skills and SIP. Findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms giving rise to SIP deficits in ASD and may ultimately inform treatment development for children with ASD.

Processing Speed is Impaired in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Relates to Social Communication Abilities

“…These findings support previous studies showing associations between information processing deficits and impairments in social cognition in ASD (Embregts and van Nieuwenhuijzen 2009; Russo-Ponsaran et al 2015; Worsham et al 2014; Lerner et al 2013). However, no significant relationships were observed between processing speed and social adjustment impairments on the SAS-II.…”

Web‐based Assessment of Social–Emotional Skills in School‐Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…A promising result from this study is the moderate and significant association between overall SELweb performance and the ADOS‐2 calibrated severity score. This finding supports the contention that social–emotional skills may be related to symptom expression in youth with ASD (Beauchamp & Anderson, ; Lipton & Nowicki, ; Loveland, ; Rice et al, ; Russo‐Ponsaran et al, ). The fact that this effect was driven largely by the psychometrically sound theory of mind subscale is consistent with current thinking that this capacity represents a vector vital to understanding and explaining heterogeneity in ASD symptomatology (Livingston & Happé, ; Lombardo et al, ; Rice et al, ).…”

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

“…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].…”