Lai Philip T, Ng Rowena, Bellugi Ursula
Language and Communicative Disorders, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
Language and Communicative Disorders, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
Int J Dev Disabil. 2021;8(2):174-184. doi: 10.1080/23297018.2021.1934893. Epub 2021 Aug 26.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders and those with Williams syndrome often have impairments in social behaviors. These two neurodevelopmental disorders are often reputed to be on the opposite ends of the social spectrum, with autistic individuals being socially avoidant and those with Williams syndrome highly social. Most research on children with autism and Williams syndrome has focused on preschool and younger school-age children. The current study assessed school-age children between the ages of 7-14 years with high-functioning autism, Williams syndrome, and neurotypical developing peers. Parents completed the Salk Institute Sociability Questionnaire and the Social Responsiveness Scale, to provide unique insights into social functioning and tap into different behavioral areas, social approach behaviors, and social responsiveness. This study provides additional evidence that young children with autism and Williams syndrome continue to show divergent social-behavioral tendencies at school-age, despite controlling for age and intellect. Results of this study better elucidate disparities as well as commonalities across school-age children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their typically developing peers, providing insight into everyday social functioning.
患有自闭症谱系障碍的个体和患有威廉姆斯综合征的个体通常在社交行为方面存在缺陷。这两种神经发育障碍通常被认为处于社交谱系的两端，自闭症患者回避社交，而威廉姆斯综合征患者则高度善于社交。大多数关于自闭症和威廉姆斯综合征儿童的研究都集中在学龄前和小学低年级儿童身上。当前的研究评估了7至14岁的患有高功能自闭症、威廉姆斯综合征的学龄儿童以及神经发育正常的同龄人。家长们完成了索尔克研究所社交能力问卷和社会反应量表，以提供对社交功能的独特见解，并深入了解不同的行为领域、社交接近行为和社会反应能力。这项研究提供了更多证据，表明患有自闭症和威廉姆斯综合征的幼儿在学龄期仍表现出不同的社会行为倾向，尽管对年龄和智力进行了控制。这项研究的结果更好地阐明了患有神经发育障碍的学龄儿童与其发育正常的同龄人之间的差异和共性，为日常社交功能提供了见解。
