Social reciprocity deficits are a core feature of the autism spectrum conditions (ASCs). Many individual with ASCs have difficulty with social interaction due to a frequent lack of social competence. This study focuses on using a virtual learning environment to help the deficiencies of social competence for people with ASCs, and to increase their…

According to a relation-theoretical approach, the construction of reciprocal relationships is an important aspect of social competence. The relevance of intraindividual adaptation of interaction behavior towards different partners for the development of social competence with peers in early childhood has rarely been studied. Three main questions…

In this report, we conducted a secondary analysis of the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study to explore the impact of specific cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment components on outcome. In TORDIA, 334 youths (ages 12 to 18 years) with major depressive disorder who had failed to respond to an adequate…

The widespread and increasing use of cooperative learning is one of the great success stories of social and educational psychology. Its success largely rests on the relationships among theory, research, and practice. Social interdependence theory provides a foundation on which cooperative learning is built. More than 1,200 research studies have…

Twenty-five individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 25 typically developed individuals participated in an Attentional Blink paradigm to determine whether emotional words would capture attention similarly in the two groups. Whilst the emotionality of words facilitated attention in typical comparison participants, this effect was attenuated in…

A consistent result in the evaluation of group-delivered intervention to promote social reciprocity in children with PDDs is that outcome data are inconclusive. Lack of robust evidence of efficacy confounds understanding of these interventions and their value to the field. It is conceivable that the construct of impaired social reciprocity in PDD…

In this study we assessed the behavioral presentation of social anxiety in Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) using a contrast group of Cri du Chat syndrome (CdCS). Behaviors indicative of social anxiety were recorded in twelve children with CdLS (mean age = 11.00; SD = 5.15) and twelve children with CdCS (8.20; SD = 2.86) during social…

Children enter kindergarten with disparate rudimentary reading and mathematics skills; capabilities for paying attention, sitting still and making friends; mental health; and inclinations for aggressive behavior. The role of these characteristics in producing fifth-grade school achievement is the subject of this paper. We find considerable impacts…

On-task behaviors are examined for three elementary-aged children who had impaired language and challenging behaviors that compromised their classroom participation and inclusion. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used. Each participant showed improvements in on-task behavior following Social Story[TM] intervention. Participants…

This study examined the ability of executive functions (EF) to account for the relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) status and social adjustment as indexed by parent and teacher report and by performance on a standardized observational "chat room" task. Children with the Combined subtype (ADHD-C; n = 23), the…

Social referencing, a form of nonverbal communication, involves seeking out discriminative stimuli provided by others about contingencies in an ambiguous context in order to respond in a manner that produces reinforcement. Although demonstrated by typically developing infants, social referencing is notably absent or impaired in individuals with…

In the present study, we investigated mindreading abilities in a group of adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) by using the faux pas task, an advanced test of theory of mind (Baron-Cohen et al. (1999). "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29," 407-418). The faux pas is a particular case of a non-intentional action reflecting an…

The absence of the fundamental skill of "initiating joint attention" reflects the social-communicative impairment characterizing autism. Initiating joint attention is related to social and communication development as well as intervention outcomes for children with autism. A behaviorally based intervention was used to teach an expanded class of…

Adults with intellectual disability are vulnerable to stressful social interactions. We determined frequency and severity of various stressful social interactions, identified the social partners in these interactions, and examined the specific interpersonal skill difficulties of 114 adults with mild intellectual disability. Participants'…

Narratives convey feelings and communicate ideas that the listener needs to hear. As such, they make powerful tools in all endeavors of human interaction. The use of narratives has been especially successful in educational settings. The time has come for the patient narrative to take back its rightful place after having been displaced in the name…